Edo

Can someone post the link for the NI calculator please?

BristolUK

this one?

Kaye5

It's working on the maximum 30 year rule until 2016, I guess, when they will no doubt change the calculator. Until then the only way to find out the true figure is to get a pension statement which will include the additional earnings related bit, and then compare that to the £148 to see if it is worth paying in the extra years.

Last pension statement I had in 2012 I had £21 earnings related and I think I was contracted out for the last few years, so that won't have changed much if at all. So I'm looking at around £134 - so worth paying in the extra 3 years which will up it to around the max £148 mark.

I think...

BristolUK

I thought it said this is what you'll get under the new rules though.

Years to go yet though.

Kaye5

I found the site has apparent contradictions in several places.

I am also grateful I have another 19 years before I truly have to worry. Maybe it will all have been made clear by then.

I will give them a call at some point... and feed back what they say.

paulry

I've just finished jumping through all the hoops to set up voluntary class 2 contributions, including 4 years of back payments (the missing years since I left the UK). It's a good value investment, well worth doing

Steve_

Based on the actual statement I got from DWP last year, they counted years before I was 19 and the website now says they won't, but the website also says you only need 30 years if you started paying in prior to April 2016. I also paid SERPS for a few years, not quite clear what's happened to that as it has been scrapped but will I still get the payout?

I wouldn't bother with that calculator, it's total wank, just request a statement.

Edo

Do you mind telling us what hoops? Sounds like theres a bit of red tape involved eh

paulry

Sorry, it's not as difficult as it sounds, there's just several steps and some waiting between each step:

About half way down the page on this link is the telephone number to request your pension statement. Once you've received it, the pension statement will provide the number you need to call to apply to make voluntary contributions. They will then send a form for you to fill in or you can get it from the link stated on the pension statement where you pretty much provide direct debit details for automatically making six monthly payments from here onwards. A couple a weeks later you'll get a letter stating that it's been accepted and what class (2 or 3, 2 being the cheaper one that most of us qualify for) and a statement for how much it'll cost should you want to top up the missing years since you left the UK and how to pay them (recommended).

Edo

oh thank you sooo much for this. Do you have to declare to HMRC that you are no longer a resident in the UK prior to starting this process, or will they take care of that as part of the above?

paulry

You just telephone them as per the steps above, explain your situation and answer their straightforward questions as they ask them. You'll need to have your national insurance number handy.

Edo

Probably a silly question, but I've some money lying in my company pension in the UK. Would it be possible if I wanted to put that into my National Insurance after I declare my non residency in the UK, instead of cashing it or transferring it into Canada?

paulry

I see no reason why you couldn't use it for that. All you need to do is go through the steps that were previously mentioned. Also, you might want to keep any money that is left over in your UK account for ongoing NI payments to keep you up to date

christmasoompa

Or you can just download the form from the HMRC website, fill it in and post it off - http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/pdfs/nico/ni38.pdf

HTH.

Edo

Thank you for providing the link to the form. Is it possible to have payments taken from my bank in Canada - that's if I can't pay the Class 2 lump sum into my NI, or pay it from my private pension as paulry suggested.