Giantaxe

The ten years in the US are being used to allow you to qualify for a UK pension. You would also get US SS based on your ten years of contributions there, but that pension would be reduced by the US windfall provision.

The US doesn't have a "fixed" pension that you then get all or a percentage of. With a few wrinkles, your US SS will be based solely on your contribution record of SS payments over your lifetime. Contributions are a fixed percentage of your income up to a threshold. So your eventual SS will depend on both the number of years you contribute, and your earned income in those years.

It really depends on individual circumstances. If you think you are going to spend a few years in the US, then return to the UK, I think that tips the balance towards making voluntary NI contributions. I decided not to do this once I got permanent residence - it seemed to me that the UK pension was (relatively) small and I would be better off maximizing my tax-deductible contributions to 401(k) and IRAs over here.

miami078

I am hoping that I will stay in the USA however as I will be returning to study and only doing some temp work which wont bring in alot I dont envisage myself making many substational SS contributions for the next few years in the USA which is why I thought it may be best to keep the UK pension as my contributions to the SS wouldnt be that great. Would that make sense?

With regards to a previous post and the question about ad hoc teaching I meant private tutoring e.g help with audition prep home tutoring, private singing lessons rather than teaching in a school etc which would require state qualification kinde of like craigs list adverts for maths prep tutoring. I will be in a difficult situation when I arrive in the USA in the sense that I will be hopefully private teaching, acting, voice over work, admin temping and also returning to uni which is why I am finding it hard with regards to finances and preparing for the future.

Again I have to look into this. It is interesting however that you dont have a similar registration for self employment in the USA as in the UK (where you have to regsiters within the first 3 months of working) as I am now wondering how I am expected to provide to the UK pensions people that I intend to work self employed once in the USA particulalry with no contracts set up (as acting doesnt work like other businesses). I guess I can only prove it retrospecively using self employed tax returns however that is under the premise I actually get work in the first year, if I dont I wonder if I am still classed as self employed i/e if I have been actively seeking self employed work but no contract can I still pay class 2.

Englishtart

Would it make any difference to your UK contributions if they knew you were going to be a full time student in the US?

I'm not sure how much (legal) work you can do in the US as a student? Are you coming on a student Visa?

My own personal choice would be to keep the UK contributions going as long as possible, it doesn't sound like you will be doing any 'work' in the US that would pay into the SS system here anyway?

Bluegrass Lass

When you are self-employed, there is generally a contract between you and your customer. If your customer is another business, the way it's supposed it work is that they will send you what is called a 1099 that shows what they paid you for that particular year. This is then what you can show as income on your tax return. However, if you plan on working with private individuals, there is almost never going to be anything like that given to you. Since I'm not self-employed I'm not sure the best way for you to track that type of income. It would be best to possibly consult with a CPA (certified personal accountant) to understand the best way for you to go about this. I think most people that do tuturing do it as a side job and I would doubt they actually claim this income on a tax return as it's probably/mostly a cash-based business. But still, look into the ins-and-outs of this with an accoutant.

meauxna

Any client who pays you +$600 (think that's still the figure) in a year is supposed to 1099 you. This is to keep people from NOT reporting income to the IRS.

When you complete your US income tax return (and miami078, you have no idea what's coming.. it will blow your mind), you tot up all your income, deduct your legitimate expenses, and pay your tax + your Social Security contributions.
Each year, Social Security will send you a statement of your declared SS-qualifying wages. You won't have anything in advance (from the US government) to show that you are 'self employed'. I think you'll have to get over a lot of the 'nationalized' notions of government with US vs UK too; we just don't 'register' much on a national scale here.

miami078

hi all

again thanks for this information this forum is highly invaluable for things like this. Its very interesting regarding not registering as self employed. i guess I will just continue to look for self employed work during the year and at the end submit a tax return if i havent earned anything that year as self employed I dont see how the UK pension office can Can penalise me i/e they surely can’t turn around and say I should have been paying class 2, as its not my fault I haven’t found contracts. I remember having some years as self employed in the UK where I earned quite a lot but many years in between where I didn’t earn anything. I guess the biggest difference is I was under the umbrella of Self employed at the beginning of the year regarding of earnings.

Ahh the dreaded tax return form….yes I have heard stories and I do believe I really do have something to look forward to lol!!! Luckily my parents in law are dab hands at it so I think I may be asking for their help regarding this to begin with, but I believe I have a lot more to learn with regards to that as I believe you can fill separate or joint tax returns (you and your husband) so I guess that’s my next big venture!

Just to answer an earlier post I will be coming in the USA on an immigrant visa (Permanent resident) I put my studies on hold in the UK when I got married and I hope to return to uni sometime in the future but for the moment I need to work to find the fees to do so, so although I will be paying SS at some point and through various ongoing temp jobs or self employed work I don’t envisage it as being the same amount of NI I paid in steady permanent jobs back here in the UK which is why it may be best for me to continue to pay into the UK pension.

Thank you all so much for you help. I am driving my husband mad with these questions but as immigrating is scary enough I thinks its important to at least research what you can so you don’t move over to another country blind and although yes these things can be annoying I agree with some people on the forum that it’s a decision we made to immigrate and we have to accept these strange things such as tax return forms!!

Now my next mission…getting private but cheap healthcare until a job with benefits comes along wish me luck!!

Best wishes

Miamia