USADragon

I paid for 16 years recently and it credited automatically. I sent from a US bank. These were the instructions I found -

Glasgow Girl

I pay monthly from a UK bank account by direct debit and it credits automatically. I get notified of the annual rate change but the change is made without me doing anything. That is pretty convenient.

Pulaski

I send 'em a check, sorry, "cheque". It costs me a stamp and an envelope.

tdrinker

Easiest is to make an application to HMRC to pay by direct debit in future. You just need to remember to cancel it when you've paid enough for a full pension, although one poster has said that HMRC stopped collecting the payments once he was fully paid up. If you do pay by monthly direct debit, they collect the payments 4 months in arrears, so you pay for 2022/23 over August 2023-July 2024 (not April-March).

tht

Thanks all… I sent the last 10 years worth of payments I need to the the UK when GBP was even more in the toilet than now… so DD would work. Is it a snail mail form or can you set it up online?

I don’t think I even have GBP checks anymore, and it’s easier to send via BACS than writing a check and mailing it for $1.50 or whatever a global stamp is these days…. The issue has just always been having them link the payment they receive the same day with my account despite me putting the NI + IC + SURNAME + Initial… I think my issue is because that’s the reference for an overseas payment and I send it UK to UK bank… the letter does not say what format for domestic reference number… but I use the same as indicated for International…

looking at the link on the letter it asks for the 18 digit reference for UK payments, but they don’t send that on the international letter…

tdrinker

Submit form CF83.

https://www.gov.uk/government/public...ty-abroad-ni38

I don't know if there is an option to send it electronically.

tht

I submitted that years ago and have been making yearly payments.

asjwalsh

I sent my first CF83 in early March this year via USPS and have heard nothing. So whilst visiting Blighty last month I sent a duplicate (signed) form via Royal Mail using track and trace. That was over a month ago and track and trace does not show it ever arrived at the destination. I used the PO Box address, not the courier address. I cannot get through on the phone. It is sooooo frustrating.

morpeth

My experience has been by calling it can speed up the crediting to the account,so is posted within 1 to 2 weeks , if payment done by bank transfer. The one time I sent in by cheque, it took over two months after receipt to be credited.

Mercury39

Did anyone else's letter say "for the period 11/04/2021 to 08/04/2023 the amount due is...."
Mine says 2021 not 2022...

Pulaski

The letter I got last year was for 2020-2022, so two years.

I haven't received one for this year yet, but the cheques I sent a few months ago should, by my calculations, bring me up to 35 years, so I am expecting a letter at some point that says I am fully paid up.

tdrinker

If they're charging you for one year, and especially if you have already paid for 2021/22, I'd assume it's a typo and they're billing you for 2022/23. If you haven't paid for 2021/22 and they're billing you for 2 years, then it's a bill for 2 years, 2021/22 and 2022/23. If it's mix and match, it's unclear. If you have access to your records online, you can see which payments are outstanding and are therefore being invoiced. Once the payment is made and the record updated (will take a while), you can re-check your record.

If it was me, I'd pay if it is clear they are invoicing for an outstanding period(s). You could also send a letter stating the period the payment covered if there's any doubt, or not pay and send a letter asking for clarification if it really is unclear.

tdrinker

It's be worth asking for a pension forecast, i.e. the pension amount, to make absolutely sure it's the full pension. There's lots of newspaper articles on underpaid pensions due to errors, and whilst it's no-doubt a minority of cases, it doesn't hurt to be sure.

Pulaski

I already did that, and it showed I would reach 35 years in 2022-23, however my records indicate that I hadn't contributed for 2006-07 and 2007-08. I am waiting to hear if my payment for either one of those years has been accepted.

The fact that I haven't received a 2022-23 bill yet makes me think that my payment for one of those early years has been accepted; or maybe my case is log-jammed in an administrative queue awaiting personal attention because of that additional payment, which if accepted will likely lead to a small repayment as I slightly overestimated the amount due.

Steerpike

Have those of you who make Class 2 payments received your annual letter from HMRC this year? I haven't received mine yet. Last couple of years, the letter was dated circa April 2, and I received it towards the end of April.

I'm tempted to make an unsolicited payment, since the payment details don't change from year to year - only the payment amount.

My payment in 2022 was 158.60 GBP
My payment in 2021 was 158.60 GBP
My payment in 2020 was 159.00 GBP

I'm assuming this is pretty much the same for all us overseas folks, so ... what is the payment amount for 2023?

UPDATE - I just read this post from a few weeks ago in this thread:
So I guess 163.80 GBP is the magic number for this year?

To answer the question asked by tht - My three payments credited automatically, and I paid from my UK HSBC account. I covered exactly how I submitted the payment earlier in this thread. I think this post is the one that details what worked: Class 2 NI. What about us poor expats paying voluntary contributions?
Bottom line seems to be - make the payee "HMRC NIC receipts".