So i have settled and I've been working away in IT. Friday evening I bumped into a random expat and he brought up the uk state pension

Now, Ive been paying into the state pension from when I was 16 until I turned 29. Obviously I do not want to loose what i have contributed. Is there anyway I can continue to pay into the state pension? Also, how would I make sure I get the payments required once I become of age?

I did do some digging around and I'm find all sorts of mixed data, like I have until april 2015 to do so and that i need to contact the dwp

You can continue to make voluntary contributions to the UK state pension.

Thats good to know! How would I start? My current job does not provide a pension of any kind.

https://www.gov.uk/voluntary-nationa...-contributions

I stopped contributing when I left the UK, could not see a value in it. Do you see a value to continuing or topping up?

post#4

There are several threads on BE on 'state pension' & 'voluntary NI contributions'.

Simple example:

- Current full state pension ~£113/wk

- Class 2 Voluntary contributions ~£140/yr

Of course it changes come 2016/17 when a person is required to have 35 years of NIC for full state pension, which currently is 30 years

I haven't made any voluntary contributions so far. I think I should request a pension statement to see where I am now. I have 22 years of contributions and, when you only needed 30 years for the maximum pension, I was thinking maybe to wait until 2 years before retiring and paying two years and buying back six years.

From what I can see the spouse's part of the pension will disappear which makes it much less attractive.

I am still worried about the clause in the social security treaty that says that any year you are covered by NI does not count towards OAS. I don't want to pay for a pension that will not increase with inflation and give up a free one that will.

If asked, the UK Pension Service will provide an estimate of your UK state pension without additional contributions, as well as with additional contributions, to help you assess the benefits. Also, it may be worth checking with the Canadian Pension Plan (Service Canada) as regards OAS. You qualify for OAS as long as you have lived in Canada for the required period, I think.

Yes, to qualify for the full amount you have to live in Canada for 40 years between 18 and 65. If you have lived in Canada for at least 10 years you will get something if you stay in Canada and at least 20 years if you retire anywhere else.