00derek

Brilliant!

I just applied online for my wife - wish they'd done that sooner

Pulaski

The sort code is part of the IBAN, it's the six digits preceding the account number, which is the last set of digits in the IBAN string. (There may be some zeros added in front of your account number (so between the sort code and the account number), to bring it up to a standard length.)

jjmb

OK, need some advice. We have finally been able to sign up for the Government Gateway thanks to the new app, to check on our NI records and apply to buy NI stamps.
My application was straight forward as I did not work before coming over here and being in receipt of child benefit. I only worked for a few years here, while the money draining sprogs were in University, so don't qualify for US SS. On my appplication, I put down our departure date as March 2000, as you can't claim Child Benefit, once you are aboard.
My husband's is much more complex. When we came over in 2000, he was on secondment for nearly 2 years. That means even though he was working here, he was actually paid in the UK. In 2002, he transferred to the work place here, officially. Since then the company he orignally work for no longer exists in the UK, so has no address except as an off shoot and his company here became a separate company. The company has changed hands again since then,
Question: although we left in March 2000, he was still paying NI contributions up Feb 2002. How does he fill in the form for date of departure. Does he put in March 2000 or Feb 2002?
No address exists for the company in the UK.
He only has 5 yrs to pay, as he made a voluntary payment just before the 35 yr rule came into being, so I am not even sure it's worth the effort, unlike myself who only had 23 yrs. Hopefully, I can make missing years up, as it would nice to have some money of my own for a change. I worked out, it will cost me the equivilant of just under 1 yr of pension to make for those years, so it seems worthwhile.

mrken30

Wish the HMRC person has told me this in January. I posted my application 2 months ago and still waiting for a reply.

Just applied again, hopefully this doesn't confuse HMRC

Pulaski

Both are worth doing, as the return on both (investments) is extremely good, especially if you are eligible for, request, and are approved for Class 2 contributions. In your husband's case, he'll get an extra 5/35, or about 14%, and who wouldn't want an pension 14% greater? ..... And in both your cases, the amount of Class 2 contributions is returned to you in increased pension after about 7½ months of retirement.

Your husband's situation is more than a little strange, and I don't recall seeing one like it, where someone left the UK, but continued having NI deducted from his pay. .... I would go with using the date of him coming off the UK payroll (ceasing NI contributions deducted from his pay), as the day he left, as that is when he functionally left. If he tries to use the date he physically left the UK, I can imagine that causing confusion somewhere down the line when the date doesn't line up with his payroll deducted NI contributions.

tdrinker

Agree, let sleeping dogs lie. The objective is filling the NI gap and this is the relevant date.

Pierre_Tete

When I first read this thread last year I saw that Pulaski and others commented that voluntary NIC's were a great investment, so I ran the numbers and yes, it is indeed a surprisingly good return on investment. So I duly coughed up 17 years' worth of Class 2 back payments.

But does anyone know *why* it is so generous? Did someone slip in a typo when the legislation was written (maybe it should have been 13.15, not 3.15 per week......😕)?

postbox134

Maybe someone in a high place is good at lobbying for it But then again for the really wealthy it's small change (unlike say non-dom)

Pulaski

It's to do with the overall funding of NI and the various Classes of NI contributions, primarily as relates to self employment, where the self employed pay Class 2 plus a variable amount based on their income, and somehow, if you're working outside the UK, and not earning anything chargeable to British income tax and the variable NI charge, you are still allowed to pay Class 2 only and get full credit. Which still makes no sense, but when there was talk a few years ago of abolishing Class 2, it was because of a reorganization of NI charges for the self employed, not to stop us expats from taking advantage of Class 2. And the possible end to Class 2 which has just appeared again a few weeks ago, it was in relation to a possible wholesale reorganization of the entire NI funding scheme, so again, nothing to do with us expats, though from what I saw, the reform, if it goes through, would end any sort of NI contributions not linked to earned income chargeable to income tax in the UK.