UK Pension

A friend in the UK made a substantial gift to the mission to enable our UK state pension contributions to be completed. I had 31 years of contributions and Pat has 30, and we had anticipated saving up over the next few years buying additional years of contributions as we could. Now we wouldn't need to.

I signed a form allowing the mission to negotiate on my behalf, then the mission enquired how much it would cost to add my four missing years. The answer they got was far less than I had calculated so they sent off the cheque. I allowed a couple of weeks, then started watching my pension forecast.

Nothing changed.

I allowed a month, then six weeks. 

Still nothing changed.

The folks at the mission contacted the pensions centre.

Nothing changed.

I phoned the helpline. "I'll send an urgent memo. It'll take a couple of weeks."

Nothing changed.

I phoned again, this time being sure to get the name of the person I spoke to. I quoted the dates of the letter and phone calls. "I'll send an urgent memo. It'll take a couple of weeks."

OK, but what should I do next, because the last time someone did this nothing changed. "Well it takes a couple of weeks."

We started this in June and it is now November.

"Then write a letter".

Thus it was that in December I sent a fairly thick envelops with copies of all correspondence between the mission and myself, with dates and records of phone calls and asked what could be done to rectify the situation.

After Christmas, with bated breath, I dared to look at my pension forecast page.

I now have 35 years of contributions ! After April we should see what effect that has on my pension forecast. 

Man that was hard work, but worth it in the end.

Now to do the same for Patricia.  



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