shelley748

So I finally got my letter today telling me what amount needs to be paid. I called +44 191 218 3600 (on the letter) to see if I could get the 18 digit reference number according to the letter to make the payment, and I was told I needed to call +44 191 203 7010 to get this.

I hung on that call for near 50 minutes and gave up. I looked at the HMRC website again

https://www.gov.uk/pay-class-2-natio...-bank-transfer

and its as clear as mud to me. I was going to send a wire and it looks like you have to quote your NI number , the IC + surname and initial....does this look right?

Otherwise I was thinking about getting a UK bank draft and sending it with a copy of the letter they sent to me via registered mail telling them which years I am paying..

They dont make this simple....I have searched the forums but it looks like others have had the same questions...as yet not answered....

Thanks in advance

JamesM

It depends on how long your surname is.

The reference shouldn't be more than 18 characters.

Mine was NI number plus IC plus first 6 letters of surname.

They will give it to you when you call that number but be prepared to be on hold for 30 to 50 minutes. I think you should definitely confirm this reference with them as you likely cutting a large-ish payment.

Twitcher1958

One thing to check - we sent cheques (I think) last year for our payments and I think they warn it takes a few weeks to be credited to your account. Months later, I still couldn’t see the ‘full year’ comment so contacted them - it had inadvertently been credited against a previous year which didn’t help my record. Apparently everything I’d done was correct - it was a simple admin error so worth checking 😉

JamesM

Yes. I'll be following up for sure.

Making the bank payment wasn't straight forward.

The bank didn't automatically serve up the correct HMRC account but offered a ton of others.

On research I found people on the internet who had made payments to all sorts of random HMRC accounts. It must happen a lot.

Anyway I realized you could manually type in "HMRC NIC Receipts". Then it said account is recognized and I was able to pay.

Other things to remember if using Barclay's are to make sure you have selected the payment as a business and not personal.

Glad it's paid. It kind of reminds me of the immigration process. I began in December 2022.

shelley748

Thanks I did call again and you are exactly right- I also gave them the years i was paying and I will do a wire transfer later this week. They said it takes about 8 weeks for it to show up on your records.

shelley748

yes I think its better to send the wire transfer- I was able to tell the girl the years I was paying back so she input on my record.

JamesM

8 weeks. Good to know! I will put something in the calendar to check end of May.

ann m

Hi gang! After a year since completing the application form, I finally got my letter to explain costs. They confirm I have 23 years of NICs on record and laid out costs to buy back up to 17 years of Class 3 contributions at approx £800+/- for each year, which totals way too many dollars.

I’m going to have to call them. But do I not qualify for Class 2 (and what might be a reason?)?

And I thought at some point I read that you could only buy back 6 or 7 years on total??

Pulaski

[1] You have to request/ apply for Class 2 (currently £163), the default is to be offered Class 3. I think I heard the application form is available on line now.

[2] The general rule is that you can only pay for "the current year and six preceeding years", but for a temporary period, ending in 2025 (Twenty Twenty-Five), IIRC you can contribute as far back as 2006-07, which as of today is 17 years. Which is why you were told "up to 17 years", when in your situation, the maximum number of additional years that you would actually buy would be 12 years, bringing you up to 35 years, which would get you the "full" state pension.

ann m

Ok, many thanks Pulaski. When we did the form, I sent a letter too asking them to confirm if we were eligible to buy Class 2 OR Class 3.

I’m going to call them this week!

Pulaski

You completed a Class 2 request form? If not, ya gotta fill out the form! Remember, you're dealing with a large government bureaucracy.

If you call them, I guarantee, 💯 that's what you'll be told. The form asks for information about your last UK employer, and what you did, workwise, after you left the UK, so there is no way for anyone to give you an answer on the fly, over the phone.

So if you find the form on-line you can get the ball rolling now.

ann m

We completed the CF83 form and mailed in it last Feb. We did all the past employment stuff.

Pulaski

And have they mailed you a response? That's what you need, it will either say you're eligible to make Class 2 contributions, or you're only eligible to make Class 3 contributions. I doubt they will tell you anything about that decision over the phone.

ann m

Yes, I have a letter, outlining an option to pay up to 17 yrs of Class 3 (only).

Pulaski

OK, so I read back through your posts today (sorry, I was being a bit slow, and missed what you said earlier), so the most likely explanation for not being approved for Class 2 is that you either were not working in the year up to when you left the UK, or you did not take up employment in the year you arrived in your new country of residence, or both.

This rule has the unfortunate consequence of most commonly biting women looking after children, especially if their husband took up well paid overseas employment "so my wife can stay home to look after our kids".