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| DON'T believe the fake 'Martin Lewis' or 'MSE' ads |
| On 6 April 2016, a new state pension system was introduced for anyone who'd hit state pension age on or after that date, which means roughly everyone who's currently 70 or under today. So why am I talking about it now? Well, as part of that change, some transitional arrangements were put in place that END this tax year, so check now if you can use those to gain £10,000s. The team have worked hard on a new, full Urgently consider buying national insurance years guide. Here's my SIMPLIFIED explainer so you can see if it's a relevant read. This is all about buying extra 'national insurance (NI) years'. State pension payouts are based on the number of 'qualifying NI years' you have. Most people acquire these while working or when getting NI credits (eg, for bringing up children). The first step is to check your pension forecast and/or check how many NI years you have.To get the full state pension, you'll often - but not always - need around 35 qualifying NI years. The current full state pension is £185.15/week. Depending on your age and NI record, you may need more or less years than 35 to get this full amount, but if you don't have enough you'll likely get less pension. Common scenarios where this happens include those who spent years abroad, had periods on low income, or contracted out of the state pension. Until 5 April 2023, you can buy years to plug NI gaps back to 2006. After that, it's only back six years. When the transitional arrangements end, the number of extra years purchasable drops, so checking now is key. Those at or near state pension age will find it relatively easy to see if topping up may help. If you're younger, the check shows how many years you already have, and how many are left. If a shortfall is likely and you've NI gaps for 2006 to 2016, you need to decide by the tax-year end whether to top up. Though the younger you are, the more time you have to earn the max years through work or NI credits. That's why I've said this is roughly for over-45s or maybe over-50s, as under that you've so many years left until state pension age, it'd be taking a real risk to buy now unless you're sure you won't make them up later (eg, as you live overseas). For some with the cash, it'll be very lucrative: each £800 could net a (mostly) inflation-proof £5,800. We've built a simple state pension NI contribution top-up calculator to help with the maths. A full voluntary NI year costs £800ish, but could add up to an extra £275 ANNUALLY to your state pension - so the break-even point is hit if you live just three years after getting your pension (or if you're already getting it, after you top up). If a man who's reached age 66 lives the typical 19 more years, a woman 21 more years, then for EACH £800 spent, a man can expect to get £5,300 extra pension, a woman £5,800. Plus the state pension currently (usually) has a triple lock, meaning it rises with the highest of inflation, 2.5% or average earnings (though the average earnings figure is suspended this year). Therefore for many, unless you've a chronic condition likely to substantially impact life expectancy, if this works for you it's virtually unbeatable. WARNING: Do not rely solely on our calculations - this is complex. You'll note I've written a lot of 'for most', 'up tos' and 'usuallys' above, as there are a lot of complex factors here. Our calculator and guide are designed to see if doing this is likely a winner, but it's not certain, so before you shell out, ALWAYS call up the Future Pension Centre to get a bespoke answer on whether this is worth it for you.Even then, all you'll be told is the impact on your state pension, there are still a few more buts... such as for those who will be relying almost solely on state pension income, it mightn't be worth it as you're eligible for a pension credit top-up (though nearly a million eligible don't claim). So do also see the list of buts we've prepared. |
| 10% off code at discounted 'best-before' store - 23p Pepsi, £4.50 for 1kg Lindt. MSE Blagged. Online store Approved Food sells groceries near or past 'best-before' dates at a discount (note this isn't a 'use-by' date which is about health, this is about optimum eating time). Our code gets an extra 10% off (min £22.50 spend). Staggeringly, Ofgem to effectively kibosh energy firms launching cheaper deals, by forcing 'em to pay an up-to-85% fee to your old company if you switch. The energy regulator is going to start changing the energy price cap four times a year from Oct (currently it's 2x per year), but less well reported is that it'll also introduce tougher charges for suppliers offering cheaper deals for switchers. As has also been news, Martin wasn't exactly impressed. See What it means for your bill (including Martin's video interview with LBC). Related: Is it time to fix your energy? New. Lloyds joins 'we'll pay you to switch' bank bunch - but others pay more, up to a FREE £170. Five banks now pay newbies for their custom, as this week Lloyds' FREE £125 launched. It has the best range of ongoing rewards, including six free cinema tickets/12 digital movie rentals. Yet there's stiff competition. Top for upfront cash: HSBC's FREE £170*. Top for service: First Direct's FREE £150* comes with a linked 3.5% saver and a £250 0% overdraft for many. See full reviews and the important eligibility info in Best bank accounts. Did you miss? Martin's debt cost-cutting masterclass - mortgages, cards, overdrafts, loans... With the UK base rate now 10 times higher than six months ago, Martin urgently takes you through the key checks. Debt cost-cutting masterclass 48 oriental lily bulbs for £8 delivered. MSE Blagged. 7,500 bundles available, but it doesn't deliver to Northern Ireland or parts of Scotland. Thompson & Morgan 'Thanks. I paid off a brutal 13.9% loan with a 3.7% one and saved £1,500.' Success of the week. Tom emailed: "Just wanted to say thanks. I read about how to cut existing loan costs in your newsletter, used your tools and managed to get a loan to pay off a brutal 13.9% one and replace it with a much nicer 3.7% one. It's saved us over £1,500 altogether." If you've saved via MSE like this, or any other way, please send us your MoneySaving successes. |
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PS: If you prefer cash for budgeting, that's fine, just ensure you do a travel cash comparison to get the best rates. How specialist overseas spending cards work. Spend on plastic abroad, and the banks get a near-perfect exchange rate on the day, but most charge a 'non-sterling exchange fee' on top. So £100 worth of euros costs £103. Yet the specialist cards don't do this, so you get just the same top rate the bank does. Get one now, then you can use it on every trip...
App-only Revolut* costs £4.99 and gives the perfect interbank rate midweek on up to £1,000 exchanged per 30-day period (with a 0.5% fee above), but adds a 1% fee at weekends. Plus you can only do £200/month of fee-free ATM withdrawals. Revolut won't credit-check you, but you will be ID-checked. Our full review and more options are in Prepaid travel cards. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| As the war in Ukraine continues, here's how you can donate money or help. English prescription charges frozen at £9.35 - but can you get 'em cheaper? More than one million people are missing out each year by not buying a season ticket. See How to save on prescription costs. Ends Thu. 3 months' free Spotify Premium (newbies only). Ad-free, on-demand, offline listening. Cancel anytime, £9.99/month after if you don't. Already got Premium? See other ways to cut the cost in Spotify MoneySaving. Martin: 'UO is just as important as UX - a tip for anyone developing a website or app.' Read more from Martin on Lessons learnt from creating MSE. Urgent. Starting uni in September? Apply NOW to get your living costs loan on time. You need to apply by this Fri in England (27 May in Wales, 30 June in Scotland, or ASAP in Northern Ireland as the deadline's passed) - though returning students have more time. Full info and how it all works in Student loans mythbuster. FREE National Cycling Show Birmingham tickets (normally £10). 18-19 Jun, 6,000 available. On yer bike |
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| AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS
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| CAMPAIGN OF THE WEEK It's National Numeracy Day on Wed 18 May - how are your maths skills? Brushing up on maths skills can make you feel more confident managing money. To help, the National Numeracy charity has a free 10-minute challenge to check your current level, then offers you tailored support to skill up. Take the National Numeracy challenge |
| THIS WEEK'S POLL What is it appropriate to borrow for? The cost of living crisis has sadly left many needing to borrow more to make ends meet. This week, we want to know if it has also changed attitudes about when it's right or wrong to borrow. Tell us in this week's poll. MoneySavers spend between £400 and £500 a year on birthdays on average. About 3,000 people responded to our poll on this last week. While £400 to £500 a year was the average, over one in 10 shelled out more than £1,000 to celebrate their loved ones. See full birthday spend poll results. |
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| MONEY MORAL DILEMMA Should we pay for charging our electric car at other people's homes? I drive an electric car and, when visiting family or friends who also have electric vehicles, I use their chargers to charge my car while we're there. It isn't usually for too long, but with the massive jump in energy prices, should we pay them for what we use? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should we pay for charging our electric car at other people's homes? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma |
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| MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (WED 18 MAY ONWARDS) Wed 18 May - This Morning, phone-in, ITV, 10.30am MSE TEAM APPEARANCES (SUBJECT TBC) Tue 24 May - BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, Mid-morning with Jeremy Sallis, from 10.45am |
| WHAT'S THE MONEYSAVING TIP YOU'D GO BACK IN TIME TO TELL YOURSELF? That's all for this week, but before we go... after the new Doctor Who was unveiled last week, we asked our social followers if they could travel back through time, what's the one money tip they'd give to themselves? Of course, there were the MoneySaving staples such as saving more and spending less, as well as avoiding endowment mortgages, paying into a pension earlier and avoiding credit card debt. And while investing isn't our area of expertise, we have to agree with the MoneySavers who wish they'd invested in tech giants Apple and Amazon when their shares could be bought for only a few dollars. Share yours and read more in the top MoneySaving tip you'd give to your past self Facebook post. We hope you save some money, stay safe, |
Important. Please read how MoneySavingExpert.com worksWe think it's important you understand the strengths and limitations of this email and the site. We're a journalistic website, and aim to provide the best MoneySaving guides, tips, tools and techniques - but can't promise to be perfect, so do note you use the information at your own risk and we can't accept liability if things go wrong. What you need to know This info does not constitute financial advice, always do your own research on top to ensure it's right for your specific circumstances - and remember we focus on rates not service. We don't as a general policy investigate the solvency of companies mentioned, how likely they are to go bust, but there is a risk any company can struggle and it's rarely made public until it's too late (see the Section 75 guide for protection tips). We often link to other websites, but can't be responsible for their content. Always remember anyone can post on the MSE forums, so it can be very different from our opinion. Please read the Full Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, How This Site is Financed and Editorial Code. Martin Lewis is a registered trade mark belonging to Martin S Lewis. More about MoneySavingExpert and Martin LewisWhat is MoneySavingExpert.com? Who is Martin Lewis? What do the links with an * mean?Any links with an * by them are affiliated, which means get a product via this link and a contribution may be made to MoneySavingExpert.com, which helps it stay free to use. You shouldn't notice any difference; the links don't impact the products at all and the editorial line (the things we write) isn't changed due to them. If it isn't possible to get an affiliate link for the best product, it's still included in the same way. More info: See How This Site is Financed. As we believe transparency is important, we're including the following 'un-affiliated' web-addresses for content too: Unaffiliated web-addresses for links in this email chase.co.uk, hyperjar.com, lloydsbank.com, hsbc.co.uk, firstdirect.com, halifax.co.uk, barclaycard.co.uk, revolut.com, uk.virginmoney.com, santander.co.uk, moneysupermarket.com, confused.com, comparethemarket.com, mbna.co.uk, bank.marksandspencer.com Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Note MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 303190). MoneySavingExpert.com Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales. Company Registration Number: 8021764. Registered office: One Dean Street, London, W1D 3RB. MoneySavingExpert.com Limited is an appointed representative of MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited. To change your email or stop receiving the weekly tips (unsubscribe): Go to: www.moneysavingexpert.com/tips. |
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