Exp76

You should call them. I sent off my form and waited two months before calling to find that they had no record of it. Second try worked but I did send it registered that time.

brits1

Hi a month ago I asked for a statement of my contributions which I duly received, the first department I spoke to at DWP were really helpful and explained my options but to ask for a statement so that I could then make a decision. I did not know this but while I was a stay at home mother for 4 years my "stamp" was paid for which added to my "years". I lived in Australia for a number of years and did not contribute to my UK NI as I thought we would never return. I now can make up the deficit with working or I can make voluntary contributions for the "missing years" but the advice was to just work and then I would have the full contributions upon retirement age.

Tzar

I called them in early June to follow up and they said it would take 3 months to respond.

After waiting for about 3 months, I finally received two letters in response to the CF83 form.

The letter from HMRC says that my application to pay Class 2 contribution has been accepted and references an attached shortfall table for further details about contribution amounts and time limits. However, there is no attached table. It looks like they forgot to send it. I called them again to follow up and they promised to send me the attachment separately.

I also received a separate letter from the National Ins Contributions office confirming that a direct debit was set up. There is a table that details the amounts that will be withdrawn from my bank account for this year's contributions, separate columns for paying Class 2 and Class 3 contributions. This letter doesn't specify which class of contribution I will be paying.

Question: does anybody know how to pay contribution shortfalls? Can I just pay online or call the National Insurance hotline and pay over the phone?

durham_lad

You can pay online.

We did this the other week for my wife. You will receive a letter with the amount to pay and it will contain a long reference number to be used when paying. It will also provide their sort code and account number. When I came to pay from our bank, HSBC, I looked up existing payees, which includes water authorities, councils etc, and found the exact sort code and account number on the letter. I did spend a minute or so double checking that I had typed in the long reference number correctly. A week later we logged onto my wife's account and checked her NI history, and that payment was reflected in her NI contributions history.

Tzar

Thanks, is there any way to receive these letters online instead of waiting for them to be delivered by mail?

durham_lad

I don't think so. We made the inquiries on line about paying for contributions in arrears and also going forward, and received a letter with a phone number.

After the phone call we then received the letter with the invoice and instructions on how to pay - at a post office, online, etc.

Years ago I did mine from the USA and they are quite happy to post the letters and instructions to your overseas address.

chawkins99

All well and good if you have a UK bank account. What if you only have a US bank account?

durham_lad

When you call and talk to HMRC you will have to ask about payment in this case. It wasn't a question I needed to ask.

chipsncurry

All very stressful it would seem. I read somewhere (perhaps in this thread?) that paying at the post office is possible?

mrken30

There was someone on here that paid by check every year. Hopefully he will come along with the information. It is also contained in another thread somewhere with the address to send the check

chawkins99

Just had an interesting conversation with DWP.

I called to ask about payment. My statement shows a 6-year shortfall:
My letter from them lists amounts I can back-pay (up to 10 years).

The lady checked my record and stated: "It may be more beneficial to pay 5 years' back payments and then continue to make some future contributions rather than pay 9 or 10 years of back payments."

I asked how that could be as class 2 NICs are being abolished next year? She said "Where have you heard that?" When I mentioned the budget proposal, she said that is regarding Class 4 contributions.

Sounds like BS to me and she didn't know what she's talking about.

Upshot is I have scheduled for a NI specialist to call me in 2 weeks to decide the best payment schedule and how to pay.

I'll update after that call...

mrken30

But to be fair, I have had no communication from DWP saying they were stopping class 2. I have only seen media releases. You would have thought they may have put something in this year's statement. Will be interesting to hear the response you get.

chawkins99

Yeah all the official stuff I have seen refers to class 2 NICs for self-employed. The only places I've seen it mentioned for ex-pats are 3rd party sites and forums.

Benson55

The UK pension compared to some other countries is very generous so it makes sense depending if you can afford it to top it up.

mrken30

The only problem is, is that the amounts are very limited. £150 a week does not go very far