Just checked mine, via the ‘Government Gateway’ (what a faff - the info on my Photo Driving License proved to be unclear - and in a very small font - but I did finally break in…!).
So… reading above, I understood I needed 35 years of contributions, to get the ‘full’ State Pension - and HMG say I have 41 years. But I still have a shortfall showing…? Huh…?
Can anyone explain…?
Sorry, wrong question.
Should have been, can you actually “pay into” SERPS and hence increase your “protected bit” of your state pension. I think that’s the bit that has been stopped.
But, please bear in mind, I’m in no way expert it this….I just paid into the company scheme, and now they and the govt give me money.
i understand if you have been contacted out ,you still have a NI record for such a year but it doesn’t count towards your state pension hence you can have 40 years in contributions with only say 30 counting.At least that’s what seems to have happened to me hence my purchasing further years only after contacting the future pensions service.
Obviously you need to check this for yourself
…though presumably only contracted out of SERPS as the main pension was mandatory.
Similar here. I am now drawing a pension but had some shortfall. I only have to survive for another two years and I’ll be quids in. 
Yes 35 years is the current number of NI years required for a ‘full’ pension but as I posted earlier you can increase that in some cases with voluntary contributions which should be shown on the website. Although my wife had been contacted out for a number of years she did have some previous years of SERPs contributions which she could maximize with a smallish top up payment to HMRC. It is very complicated with no reference manual you can check all the options and calculations. In my case as I was 65 before 6th April 2016 the government introduced a top up scheme for the old scheme members where you could get up to £25 pw in exchange for a lump sum payment. You had to send in your marriage certificate as your wife gets 50% of the top up when you die! If your wife was 40 years younger than you (not me) the cost to the government would be huge!
Is it possible to sign up without to the Gateway without a photo ID.
Did you have to scan your face with your smartphone.
Serps, S2P etc. is long dead and has ceased to be, unless you’re in receipt of ‘old’ pension already. Otherwise everyone is on ‘new’ state pension.
Your new state pension will take into account any years you were contracted out and your forecast will show this, although the language used is somewhat ambiguous.
SERPS existed between 1975 and 2002. Your pension can be made up of multiple components depending on your work period; your work record and your choices during your working life but there is no possibility of boosting SERPS at this point.
Again, the gov.uk and government gateway sites are the poorest source of information here. That has been the case from day one and no amount of anecdote here is going to factually change that.
That’s interesting. I would have been paying in for all that period. I admit that I didn’t pay much attention at the time, just paid the money. 
However it’s currently paying out £120/week, so I ain’t complaining.
Is that £120 on top of the new state pension max, which is approximately £185 , or £120 on top of the old pension max, which is less than £185.
Yep, on top of the £185.
Not sure this is correct.
I’m not in receipt of the old pension, but my forecast is higher than the new pension maximum amount.
So is the extra your “protected pension” (aka “SERPS”)?
I presume so.
The forecast shows one amount, last year it was £47 more than the maximum new pension.
But, just been looking at Which serp calculation. If correct, I should be getting more than £47.
Complicated is an understatement. Gov.uk is appalling and like almost everything regarding tax or pensions, confusing, ambiguous and difficult to follow. I can never decide if this is because it is a deliberate policy of obfuscation, or a demonstration that even the civil servants don’t understand it.
I used my Driving License, plus my Passport.
No selfies were involved…
To explain a bit more, the problem I had was actually reading the info on my Photo Driving License - so deciphering 1’s from I’s - and 5’s from S’s, in my case. The info is in a Sans font, which is less than 2mm high. I misread a 5 for an S - and I ‘failed’.
Where the site could be a bit more helpful, would be if it told you WHICH doc had failed. It doesn’t - it just rejects you - We Were Unable To Identify You.
I think you get 5 goes - I managed on the 3rd or 4th… 
Trying to understand about how to make Voluntary Contributions - the Gateway website doesn’t tell me how - only call the 0800 number…?
Also, can anyone tell me how I can work out if its worth doing…?
Thanks… 
