dj322

I've lived and worked in the UK from birth and moved to Canada in 2013. I have 16 years of contributions and have been told I can make voluntary payments for 3 years where I am missing payments, I was told these would be about 800 quid for each year, I believe this is a class 3 payment, how do I go about making these payments?

Going forwards, I'm wondering if I should continue with voluntary payments and how do I arrange this? Do I get issued a yearly bill or do I just make the payments myself? I understand I would need to get an 18 digit reference of some sort to make the payments into?

Any guidance would be appreciated.

dbd33

I make all the payments. Ages ago I worked out that I'd have to live to nearly 70 to be winning. I think I can do that. I don't administer it though, I pay these guys https://www.uk2canadapensiontransfers.com/ to figure it out and tell me what to send where.

Twitcher1958

You may be eligible for Class 2 payments which are much cheaper - only about £185 pa. There’s a form you have to complete and submit to check you qualify. HMRC have been surprisingly helpful when we contacted them. At that cost, it’s a no brainer.
And get access to the Government Gateway site so you can check your contributions.

HGerchikov

This

BristolUK

Just to emphasize it is best to apply.

I read the stuff on line several times and concluded I didn't qualify for the lower rate.
But I applied and they said I did qualify.

Twitcher1958

Definitely apply - they won’t just offer it to you but it’s simple enough to do, so why not? What’s the worst than can happen?

glendem4

No brainer, pay missing years. It will be paid back within 3 years. I.e assuming you get your statepension at 67, you wil be quids in from 70. Each year is worth 5 pounds a week extra pension. Live 20 years in retirement pays 5200 pounds for each contributing year

christmasoompa

As everybody has said above, it's a bit of a no brainer, particularly if you do qualify for Class 2 payments. But also you should be able to pay way more than 3 years, so double check that.

Piff Poff

We are in the process of updating ours. Our Financial Advisor said absolutely do it.

dj322

I am currently working for a Canadian employer, will I still qualify for class 2? I already have a login for the site to check my years of contribution and it said I can pay ~£800 for each year where I have gaps in the last 6 years.

Which form do I fill out to check if I can qualify for class 2, does anyone have the link?

Twitcher1958

I just googled NIClass 2 Contributions and found the info which hopefully is on this link. https://www.gov.uk/voluntary-nationa...0contributions

The important info is highlighted in purple.
The form is CF83 - that will check your eligibility. I think it took a couple of months when I did it. You’ve got nothing to lose by applying.

OnlineCB

I applied myself with a CF83 form and had a reply in the mail a few months later that I was approved to buy back 15 years -- 13 years at Class Two plus 2 years at Class Three (for me, the Class Three years were when I worked part time).

I then phoned and was told that I didn't have to buy back all of the 15 years at once but I could only buy back full years at one time (no partial years) and any buy back must be completed before April 2023.

I have also set up a pre approved payment to pay for upcoming years, I was told those payments will be called for in April each year at Class Two rates.

It sounds complicated but it was really straight forward and the Call Centre agents were super helpful.

Pulaski

The numbers have been creeping up, but it's only about (slightly less than, I think) £160 this year.

And to Dbd33's point, you only need to draw your pension for about 7½ months to make it worth paying for an extra year at Class 2 rates.

Twitcher1958

My typo - I should have said £158.