Career breaks and their impact on state pensions

• How career breaks or part-time work can impact your state pension
   
• What to do to maximise your state pension pot

We've discussed career breaks and your employer pension, but things are slightly different for your state pension.

In the UK, the number of years you have paid National Insurance contributions determines whether you qualify for your state pension. 

While working, these contributions are automatically taken from you via taxes. But a career break or earning less than the taxable amount could mean you're not contributing to a total state pension payout.

• If you are taking an extended career break, you have the option to pay voluntary National Insurance Contributions. Doing this continues to grow your qualifying years of contributions and won't risk delays or losses to your state pension. 
   
• Suppose you are receiving child benefits for any children under 12. In that case, the state automatically qualifies your stay-at-home-parent status worthy of National Insurance contribution 'points'. You're still totting up your state pension, even though you're not earning a wage.

Your state pension is something you definitely need to be aware of when planning for career breaks, or switching to a different work schedule. The good news, however, is that once you understand the basics of this, it's not too difficult to know how to protect your money.