State pension forecasts
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The government provides
a free service which estimates what your state pension might be at
retirement. This is an excellent way of gaining an understanding of what
your state pension benefits might be. The forecast is designed to
estimate for you
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the amount of pension you have built up so far, in terms of
current prices; and
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the total amount of pension you might have built up when you
get to State Pension Age, in terms of current prices
The forecast covers not just the Basic State Pension but also the
Additional State Pension (i.e. SERPS and S2P) and any Graduated
Retirement Benefit you may have built up. Therefore it gives a very
complete coverage of your state benefits and is the best source
around for an estimate of these benefits.
You can obtain a forecast of your state pension from the
government anytime up to 4 months before you reach State Pension Age
and its completely free.
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Applying for a forecast
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To apply for a forecast you can either get a form BR19 from your local social security
office (this can also be downloaded from
here)
and write to:
Retirement Pension Forecasting Team
The Pension Service
Tyneview Park
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE98 1BA
or else it is also possible to call 0845 3000 168 and your details
can be given over the phone. Lines are open Monday to Friday from
9am to 5pm.
The forecast will take up to 40 days from the date of your application to be
returned. Its not a very quick turnaround but then again it might take you alot
longer to find the last 25 years of P60's and calculate the figures yourself, so
perhaps not so bad after all!
Once you have received your forecast I suggest you read
"Guide
to understanding your state pension forecast" published by the
pensions service. This guide explains the forecast in greater
detail.
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Get the FREE Pension calculators from Essential Pensions.
No money, no
registration, just include one line of HTML in your web page.
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Read the guide to
investment in the pensions guide. It explains what you need to
think about before investing for your retirement.
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If you have a pensions
related question then please let us
know.
If it's something other people
would find useful then we will post an answer in our Frequently Asked Question
(FAQ) area.
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Use our online calculator
to get an estimate of your basic state pension.
Its free and
simple to use you can even include it on your own website!
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