Does my wife have to pay extra to get a full pension?
Q MY wife has been told that despite 48 years of National Insurance contributions she needs to pay a lump sum to get the full state pension. It seems like a lot of money.
Is this true?
A YOUR wife must have been contracted out of the additional state pension at some point. That would mean she paid lower NI contributions into the additional state pension and this amount would have been paid into another workplace/ private pension.
So some of her 48 years of NI contributions are not full contributions.
Buying back NI contributions can seem expensive. You need to do the sums and work out if you think the outlay is worth the extra pension income she will receive each week.
Q I’VE built up quite a large balance on a credit card and thought I could transfer it to a 0% deal, but have only been offered £1,200 on the new card. Why would I be offered a smaller credit limit?
A DO you have other credit or store cards, potentially with zero balances, but where you still have access to the credit limits? This can reduce your access to new credit. It could also be due to a change in your credit status.
Q MY mobile phone bill seems to have gone up. I haven’t gone over the included texts, minutes or data. I thought that I’d signed a fixed price contract for two years. Can firms do this?
A YES, mobile firms can increase prices mid-term in line with inflation. But if they increase by more than the retail price index then you can usually exit the contract without penalty.
Q I WANT to begin saving for my children and I was thinking about starting them with Junior ISAs. Is there a minimum you have to put into these accounts, and do you have to put the same amount away each month?
A YOU can open a Junior ISA with just £1 and pay in either regularly or when you can afford to. As with adult ISAs, there are two types – cash and stocks and shares ISAs.
You will need to check the detail of each account to ensure it works for your type of savings and budget.
Q WE have set up power of attorney for our mum. When does this kick in, and do we need to activate it when the need arises?
She is struggling with all her finances now.
A ONCE the POA is registered with the public guardian, which takes up to 10 weeks, it is ready to use. So you should activate it as soon as possible.