dinosaur

My path to online access was through getting a written statement, and calling into the HMRC office.

The on-line statement does not give any option to submit payment - for that I use old school paper che(ck/que)s. Other options may be available though.

Vancouver_22

I live overseas and completed my mail-in application for HMRC to assess my eligibility to backpay Class 2 contributions. I logged in to my account and saw that my application was received on April 5, 2017. When I login to my HMRC account, the stated timeline for assessing my application was 5-weeks—May 20th. Fast forward to today and unsurprisingly, I still hadn’t received a response yet so I just called HMRC to follow up. They informed me their new timeline is ten-weeks!! Putting aside the fact that this is a bit ridiculous they should at least update the website.

Anyway, the purpose of this post isn’t really to rant. The Class 2 voluntary contribution deadline is April 5, 2019. It might seem a long time away but it’s not a good idea to procrastinate and leave it to the last minute. It’s not really an issue at the moment as there’s still the luxury of time but people leaving it to the eleventh hour might find that HMRC is swamped and their application isn’t assessed in time. Yes, completing the application can be a bit tedious, particularly if you’ve lived outside of the UK for a long time—it’s a real pain to try and remember old addresses and employment dates. However, it would be a such a shame to miss out on such an amazing deal by leaving it until too late.

OldJuddian

For those a bit slow, how do you do this?

I logged in and can see my missing years, and it shows the Class 3 rates (although according to this thread I should be able to pay Class2). I couldn't work out what to do next - do I have to call or is there a form to download and mail in?

OldJuddian

I may have worked it out, I found this

https://www.gov.uk/government/upload.../NI38_CF83.pdf


If you want to apply to pay Class 2 NICs while you are abroad,
fill in and return the application form CF83 at the back of this
leaflet and on a separate sheet of paper include details of:
• your employment(s)
• self-employment(s)
• periods of registered unemployment
during the past 3 years and tell us the date you:
• gave up work
• will give up work
before going abroad.
Please also tell us when you intend to start, or have started work
abroad and, if possible, supply documentary evidence to support
your employment position abroad.

durham_lad

This is exactly the form. My wife just completed it today after a phone call to HMRC. She had mailed in a Direct Debit form last month to begin paying NI contributions and called to check that it had been received as well as to ask about paying back contributions. Very surprisingly she was told that she could pay 10 years, which along with her existing 15 years and 5 more years of contributions (she is 61) will give her 30 full years of contributions. (She was on speaker phone so I listened in).

As to the DD form she had sent in he confirmed that it had been received 26th April. (Today is 26 May). He then went off to check where the caseworkers were up to and came back to say that they were currently processing forms received 10th February but that when they did get round to her case that they would establish a DD going forward and send her a bill for the balance for payments from April this year rather than deduct them. She will then have to pay the back months as a one-off payment.

He also confirmed that she should be charged at the Class 2 rate for the years she was working in the USA.

chawkins99

I sent off the application to pay class 2 NICs a couple of months ago for myself and my wife. Just got them back this week.

Mine was approved and it showed a shortfall dating back to 2006-2007 that I can pay (about £1500 total for 11 years of class 2). It also states I am paid up for 26 years. However, my online statement shows if I contribute another 6 years, I'll reach the maximum pension even though that would only be 32 years. I was contracted out for several years.

So, do I pay 6 years as indicated by the statement, 9 years to reach 35 years or all 11 years available?

What is the best way to pay considering I only have a US bank account? I don't see any option with my bank (regions) to do an online payment to the UK. https://www.gov.uk/pay-voluntary-cla...e/bank-details shows how to pay from overseas but has anybody used this? I would need to go into a branch to set it up and what exchange rate to use? I'm nervous of sending a couple of grand into a non-descript account with no way to track/verify. A post earlier in this thread said their payment disappeared into the ether never to be seen again.

My wife's application was denied because she said she would not be working in the US when we arrived (H4). That question is a bit misleading. However, she has been working for several years now. I called the hotline and they said to re-submit the form with details of her current employment and they would re-assess.

nun

I've been using a foreign bank draft to pay my voluntary NI for the past 30 years. Back in 1987 HMRC didn't take electronic transfers from a non-UK account so I had to send in a GBP check. However, ordering a foreign draft from my local bank is getting more difficult by the year as their system is so old and few of the staff know how to use it. Most transfers are done electronically now and even though I could do that with HMRC I'm sticking with sending a check because it's always worked and I only have one payment left. I just send a check for £145.60 for 2016/2017 to the ridiculously cryptic HMRC address.

dossier

Is there any word on whether the Class 3 National Insurance rate (£14.25 for the 2017-18 tax year) will increase sharply in future tax years?

Pulaski

There has been no announcement, so anything anyone says would be a guess. My guess is that it will increase over time, but not "sharply".

mrken30

if you contracted out for several years you will not be able to reach the maximum 35 years. They deduct the number of contracted out years from the 35 years. There are some assumptions made which you can find on their website.

chawkins99

My online statement says:
So, is that lower than if I had NOT been contracted out?

My wife's max is the same but she needs to contribute another 7 years to reach the max.

mrken30

Mine is the same for the pension part. My COPE estimate is £23.83 a week.

Gibberdine

Is there any way to backpay Class 2 contributions? I was assessed as eligible to pay them from abroad a couple of years ago but prior to that I have a few years where I think I was eligible. Who do you contact for assessment and what evidence do you need to provide?

mrken30

Generally you can go back 6 years. There are circumstances where you can go back further.

Contact these people

https://www.gov.uk/international-pension-centre

Steve_

The other benefits are meaningless if you live abroad.

I asked this further back, if you retire after April 2016, you need 35 years worth of contributions so fill in as many missing years as you can now while you can do it using Class 2.

Just one point about Class 3 - it's more expensive but you don't have to be employed to contribute to Class 3. Anyone who has three years worth of Class 1 NI can contribute to Class 3 if they live abroad. Which will be the next thing they crack down on.