Receipt for voluntary NI contributions.
#1
Receipt for voluntary NI contributions.
I decided to play catchup and pay 6 years of back voluntary NI contributions, then start paying them yearly until I hit the required 30 years.
I dont hold a UK bank account any more.
I have the option of paying online by making a BACS transfer from my US account, or sending a UK sterling bankers draft.
The latter option appears the only way to get a receipt (I can request a receipt with the payment).
Do you think a receipt is necessary, or will my next annual NI bill show how many years I have contributed (thereby proving I made the 6 years worth of catchup payments)? What is the 'standard' method others use to pay their NI?
I did the math and it seems sensible to make up the payments, at least using the very limited information I found. Any other words of wisdom before I make my payment?
I'm sure this next bit of information is available online, but I'm also sure many have the answer at hand. Will my US born wife (not a UK citizen) be eligible for the UK pension based on our marital status, including the ability to claim it should I die before her.
I dont hold a UK bank account any more.
I have the option of paying online by making a BACS transfer from my US account, or sending a UK sterling bankers draft.
The latter option appears the only way to get a receipt (I can request a receipt with the payment).
Do you think a receipt is necessary, or will my next annual NI bill show how many years I have contributed (thereby proving I made the 6 years worth of catchup payments)? What is the 'standard' method others use to pay their NI?
I did the math and it seems sensible to make up the payments, at least using the very limited information I found. Any other words of wisdom before I make my payment?
I'm sure this next bit of information is available online, but I'm also sure many have the answer at hand. Will my US born wife (not a UK citizen) be eligible for the UK pension based on our marital status, including the ability to claim it should I die before her.
#2
Re: Receipt for voluntary NI contributions.
If I were you I would get a receipt if possible. I have always paid mine by check (I still have a UK bank account), requested a receipt, and have normally received a letter a few months later. A couple of times I have had to chase for the confirmation.
I have been asked twice in the last decade to prove 1) I am entitled to the reduced contributions and 2) to prove that I have no payments missing from previous years. Each time I have sent them copies of their own letters as proof of payment.
I've never received an annual NI bill (presumably as these are voluntary contributions? I dont know), so just mark my diary to call Newcastle once a year to get an updated amount due.
Don't know about the US wife thing - I'm in the same boat, and have worked on the assumption that if we are here, and she has no ties to the UK, has never lived there etc etc, then she won't get anything when I'm gone. There are a few retired folk on here, so hopefully they will be along shortly to give us the correct line on that one!
I have been asked twice in the last decade to prove 1) I am entitled to the reduced contributions and 2) to prove that I have no payments missing from previous years. Each time I have sent them copies of their own letters as proof of payment.
I've never received an annual NI bill (presumably as these are voluntary contributions? I dont know), so just mark my diary to call Newcastle once a year to get an updated amount due.
Don't know about the US wife thing - I'm in the same boat, and have worked on the assumption that if we are here, and she has no ties to the UK, has never lived there etc etc, then she won't get anything when I'm gone. There are a few retired folk on here, so hopefully they will be along shortly to give us the correct line on that one!
#3
Re: Receipt for voluntary NI contributions.
Thank you for sharing your experience.
I'll send a bank draft and request a receipt.
The statement I received showing how many years I had already contributed, and how much to pay for the previous 6 years does have a section that states "We have accepted your application to pay voluntary Class 2 NICs by yearly payment. We will send you a letter shortly after 5 April 2013 to tell you how much to pay for the 2012-2013 tax year..."
Based on your experience, I'll set a calendar reminder just in case they do not.
Hopefully someone will chime in on the happy topic of death and successors entitlement to pension benefits.
I'll send a bank draft and request a receipt.
The statement I received showing how many years I had already contributed, and how much to pay for the previous 6 years does have a section that states "We have accepted your application to pay voluntary Class 2 NICs by yearly payment. We will send you a letter shortly after 5 April 2013 to tell you how much to pay for the 2012-2013 tax year..."
Based on your experience, I'll set a calendar reminder just in case they do not.
Hopefully someone will chime in on the happy topic of death and successors entitlement to pension benefits.
#4
Re: Receipt for voluntary NI contributions.
Wouldn't you get a receipt from the bank for doing the transfer though?
I think the missus should be able to get the pension, I think that is what people have said in the past, but I'm not sure if you were to kick the bucket first but I think I remember reading that she would still be entitled to it, at least until she remarried.
Would definitely search the previous threads out though, if the search is working.
I think the missus should be able to get the pension, I think that is what people have said in the past, but I'm not sure if you were to kick the bucket first but I think I remember reading that she would still be entitled to it, at least until she remarried.
Would definitely search the previous threads out though, if the search is working.
#5
Re: Receipt for voluntary NI contributions.
I opted to have an "agent" pay them for me. My oldest son in UK will write a check for my back payments.
#6
Re: Receipt for voluntary NI contributions.
The best thing would be to ring The International Pension Centre at:
44 191 2187777 (8AM - 8PM)
Have your NI number when you call
Does she, by chance, have a NI number?
hmmmm.....now that I think about it - without one she may (?) not qualify...but I'm really unsure, so best to call them
Also - if you give them your NI number and request THEY phone YOU back - they will escalate your questions to someone really knowledgeable who'll take the time to explain things when they call back. Be sure to ask when you should expect that call. You can pin them down to a specific day and time-window.
#7
Re: Receipt for voluntary NI contributions.
Ray's wife gets a UK pension and she's never lived in the UK.
#9
Re: Receipt for voluntary NI contributions.
I had no idea you could either. I think I will be entitled to 50% of my husband's pension...which I think will be more than what I am entitled to. Think I'm right about the same applying to his US pension. What a nice surprise.
#10
Re: Receipt for voluntary NI contributions.
The statement I received showing how many years I had already contributed, and how much to pay for the previous 6 years does have a section that states "We have accepted your application to pay voluntary Class 2 NICs by yearly payment. We will send you a letter shortly after 5 April 2013 to tell you how much to pay for the 2012-2013 tax year..."
Based on your experience, I'll set a calendar reminder just in case they do not.
Based on your experience, I'll set a calendar reminder just in case they do not.
I got a similar letter back in 2000, just after I stopped full time work, and I did indeed get a letter that first year. I've not had anything since that told me how much to pay without me first prompting them to tell me.
#11
Re: Receipt for voluntary NI contributions.
Anyway, this has reminded me that one of my tasks for the year is to a) consolidate the numerous 401k's, IRA's etc that she has accumulated with various employers and b) try to get a handle on all the little bits and pieces of life policies that are floating around out there....Our main ones are well sorted, but there are all sort of other bits and pieces of life insurance policies tied up in other things (AAA, credit cards, car insurance etc) that it would be a shame to lose track of....
#12
Re: Receipt for voluntary NI contributions.
I'd have a receipt from my bank that showed a dollar/sterling amount, and possibly the reference number (my NI number). It would not say what the money was for, or what period it covered.
I'm not sure of the requirements for making up the last 6 years. If I don't make it in time I have to pay a penalty and also lose the right to make up earlier years. I dont know if an admin error on their end could mean they received the money, but through some obscure problem it was not put on my account, and their mistake made the payment ineligible. Yorkieabroad's experience has made me a little uneasy about trusting it gets done right.
I'm 7 more years away (if I make up the last 6 years) from the qualifying 30 years. I'd prefer to have a receipt showing the 6 years were now on my file, rather than something from the bank I could later use to prove they should be on my file.
I'm not sure of the requirements for making up the last 6 years. If I don't make it in time I have to pay a penalty and also lose the right to make up earlier years. I dont know if an admin error on their end could mean they received the money, but through some obscure problem it was not put on my account, and their mistake made the payment ineligible. Yorkieabroad's experience has made me a little uneasy about trusting it gets done right.
I'm 7 more years away (if I make up the last 6 years) from the qualifying 30 years. I'd prefer to have a receipt showing the 6 years were now on my file, rather than something from the bank I could later use to prove they should be on my file.
#13
Some Where in the Desert
Joined: Jul 2006
Location: AZ
Posts: 247
Re: Receipt for voluntary NI contributions.
Remember with the proposed UK pension changes it is going up to 35 years to qualify for the full pension.