hutchiebug

Hi Nearpost1 - Specific Steps? Er, well, since you brought it up on this very site I have wondered if and how to do this. I'm not as swift with this stuff as you are! When my SS Agent contacts me I'll ask him about that. Do you have a publication or reference I can Google and throw at him?

mrken30 - I wrote to the Pension Service way back in 2004, provided my NI number and they told me how much pension I would get, and also how to go about improving it. They are v. helpful, even returned a book of stamps I inadvertently enclosed in a letter.

Hi lansbury and durham_lad - Thanks, my nerves are shot, gawd! Wondering how long this will take, I should whine that it took half a minute for my friend lansbury and what's the delay with mine?? I hope the online calculator's accurate at least!

nearpost1

Hi Hutchiebug

What I meant was, what did you say when you wrote back to the agent n New Mexico that might convince him to accept that your pre 1975 NIC contributions should be excluded from any application of WEP. Other than what I have read on here, there is no publication or reference that I know of.

If you're successful, I think you'll be our first evidence that the dept of SS don't WEP pre 1975 NIC contributions.

Edit:

Perhaps you have not yet got to the point where you will try to convince the social security agent that your pre 1975 NIC's are not subject to WEP. Anyway, I'm looking forward to hearing how that goes. Good Luck!

nun

This sounds a bit strange to me as I've only ever paid in GBPs. In 1987 I sent the form from NI38 in and initially paid Class 3 NICs. Legislation then made it possible for me to pay Class 2 and I applied to pay those in the early 1990s. I have always received an annual bill from Newcastle in GBPs and sent them a GBP check which costs me $25 from my US bank. It is now possible to wire the money, but I stick with sending a check as I know it works.

nearpost1

Just had a look through my phone book sized file on dealings with Newcastle. I found a HM Revenue and Customs form " INS 13" . Just googled it and can't find it online anymore. Anyway, it has an address at the top for Charity Assets and Residence in Benton Park View Newcastle. Listed under methods of payment, they include "Foreign Currency cheque". They mention the £10 fee also.

It could be that I have accidentally found some unorthodox method for paying my annual NIC. I never get a bill from them.I just remember to send a cheque in U.S. Dollars every year. They always, eventually*, write back with an updated total of credits.

* I say eventually because I only send money for Class 2 NIC's, which while they cash immediately, they don't immediately give me a credit. Instead they write back wanting to know if I worked on the last year. I'm self employed, but not actually earning any money, so I think they have to have a bit of a huddle to figure out whether I should pay the higher Class 3 NICs. So far they have given me the benefit of the doubt, even though I have said I have no idea if I will work again. I'm currently awaiting "judgement" on my 2014/2015 NIC.

mrken30

Here is the link for INS 13

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/gds/payinghmrc/ins13.pdf

nearpost1

Nice find mrken30

nun

It sounds like HMRC does not have you "on the books" and each year they receive a check from you they have to figure out your eligibility and then send you a receipt. You should file the form at the back of NI38 and then HMRC will send you a bill each year. You can then pay the exact Sterling amount by wire or a Sterling bank draft rather than sending an unrequested foreign currency check.

nearpost1

Thanks for advice nun.

HMRC hopefully did you a service by showing your pre 1975 record in the form of credits, instead of dates and work contribution. This, hopefully increases the likelihood the pre 1975 portion will not be subject to WEP. The pre 1975 contributions were flat rate stamps, and not related to earnings.

UK2US1979

I need some help. My brother cannot find his NI # and has filed Pension Claim form under his name only ( along with letters from Employers verifying his employment in the UK). The claim form does say, do so even if one doesnt have the NI #. So, 3 weeks later, he called the contact center to check that his claim form was received and entered into the computer system. The Rep told him that he does not see it in the computer and not sure if it was received. Same response was given to him a couple months back regarding a letter he had sent to the Pension Center requesting an estimate. It doesn't sound right that his mail/forms etc are not received and/or entered in the computer. Previously, I had sent mine with the same regular mail and they all got there alright!! Has any one ever filed a claim form without noting the NI #? If so, how did they verify that the forms had reached there and/or scanned accordingly. Needelss to say, my brother is very frustrated and doesn't know what to do. If another package was mailed again, what's the guarantee that it wouldn't meet the same fate! It has laready happened twice. Unfortunately there is no direct telephone # of the Pension Dept where one could talk to a higher official.

nearpost1

Sorry to hear your brother is distressed about this. I find it takes ages to hear back from them. Possibly due to my unorthodox method of paying my annual NIC's, it's takes them six months to come back to me with questions about eligibility to pay class 2 NIC's. Then about four months after I have immediately responded, they write back to me with a resolution.I don't think he should be too alarmed, as they are pretty overwhelmed, and struggling with a state run system. In case you don't know, there is an official form for requesting a pension forecast, the BR19.

https://www.gov.uk/government/public...sion-statement

If he doesn't want to wait a bit longer, he could write them recorded delivery. I had to do that a few years back when after decades of having my d.o.b. correct, one of their staff typed it wrong in a letter to me. I tried to convince them on the phone, but in the end they demanded my birth certificate to prove that the typo was a typo. Then when they tried to send my birth certificate back to me they mailed it to Western Australia because I put my zip code as WA 98332. Anyway, I found out that they accept recorded delivery!

Hope this helps!

UK2US1979

Thank you so much for your input. Are you sure the Pension Center in Wolverhampton accept recorded delivery? Someone there has to sign the receipt. I recall reading a post here. someone had sent the Claim Form via Fed Ex but they were not able to deliver it because there is no one on the other end ( Pension Center in Wolverhampton) to sign the receipt. By the way Fed ex is quite an expensive way to send the package. Recorded delivery or registered mail shouldn't be that expensive if they do accept such mail and sign for it. Based on my experience and others on this Board, it takes about a week for the regular mail to get there and upon receipt, it is promptly scanned and recorded on the computer. They confirmed and processed mine within a couple of weeks time a few months ago. I think the problem in my brother's case is that he has not been able to notate his NI # on the form. But I would have thought they will still have a record of any communication received under the name alone. By the way, it takes ages to receive a response from HMRC. ( 3-4 months).

hutchiebug

Social Security tells me that in my case, whether voluntary payments were excluded or included, my WEP amount is the same. Online calculator was accurate.

nearpost1

My recorded delivery experience was with : Customer Operations,NIC office,International caseworker BP 1301, Benton Park View,Longbenton, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE98 1ZZ. I have read the posts you refer to as well. I suppose some addresses, maybe including Woverhampton,do not sign for letters. Nearly all my correspondence, about 15 letters to, and 15 letters from, has been with above address. Their letterhead all says HMR&C. Every time they write, there is a different switchboard number. The latest is 44 (0) 3000 555725

I realize this may be the wrong group to contact, but maybe worth a phone call?

nun

Bureaucracy has a function. If you use the forms and procedures required by the system it will help. For international contributions always deal with Benton Park View. I get my bill every May, pay it and request a receipt that arrives about a month afterwards. For a Pension Forecast just file a BR19...regular mail works perfectly well. If you don't know your NI # call the hotline or file a CA5403.

lansbury

The problem with the Wolverhampton address as I recall is it doesn't have a street address. Therefore a courier company cannot deliver to it.