TRICIA PHILLIPS
Treasury announced last week it was decreasing the penalty from 25% of the total fund to 20%.
Q
I AM buying a fridge via a rent-to-own deal. I’ve asked for a temporary payment freeze as my income has dropped and I can’t afford the repayments. However, the firm is now saying they are coming to take back the fridge. Can they do this?
A
THE guidance from the Financial Conduct Authority around payment freezes on rent-to-own deals is that if the buyer needs the item, ie it’s an essential, then they should not repossess it.
A payment freeze should just mean that – you stop making repayments for up to three months, interest is added to the amount you owe and your payment term is then extended by three months when you restart payments.
I would suggest that you contact the firm to say they’re breaking the FCA rules and if they won’t help
Q
YOU said in a recent feature you need 35 years’ National Insurance contributions to get the full state pension. I’ve got 41 years but when I checked my pension forecast I still won’t get the full pension. Why?
A
IT needs to be 35 years of full National Insurance contributions – ie a full 12 months for each year. Also, many workers are unaware they were contracted out of the additional state pension by their employer.
This means they paid lower NI contributions or more was paid into their workplace/ private pension. Because of the lower NI contributions they receive less than the full state pension.
This has caused lots of confusion for those who end up with lower state pensions.
From April 2016 the rules changed and people are no longer able to be contracted out.