Maybe can blame the media here for this to an extent, it was highly publicised in the newspapers and on RTE about availing of this and how easy it was to qualify. Maybe this rubbed people up the wrong way in UK and forced Rachel Reeves hand, if their hadn't been so much publicity about it here it might have been left slip under the radar.
2026 UK Budget Changes
- Thread starter Savvy
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True, but had it not been publicised so widely most people wouldn't have applied. They would have been unaware that they qualified to do so and the potential benefits. This website and the contributions to the threads about the UK pension were a fantastic source of information regarding the application.
balders93
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I don't think media can be blamed for pointing out there's a freely available money printer.
Nor the UK gov for tightening things up.
People here have made hay while the sun's shined, but the generosity of it all was mad.
Agreed and if the situation was reversed I can envisage a similar reaction here.
I'm not talking about this site ,obviously a site dedicated to financial matters would be discussing it big time, this is where I found out all the information on it. I just thought the RTE coverage of it on shows like Clare Byrne was a bit over the top, it was almost as if they were making fun of the situation.
Well it was kind of funny and bit mad given how generous it was!
Annieindublin
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It wasn’t just here. Australia too, lots of people there worked a year or two in UK, and Canada likewise. Not sure they had the same T&C are people living in Europe since leaving Uk but still a lot of people.
I’ve only a couple of year more to go, hubby has a few more and a few mates have around 10.
I’ve only a couple of year more to go, hubby has a few more and a few mates have around 10.
It was estimated that there could be up to 300,000+ Irish people that worked in the UK down the years that were eligible for this. I evangelised amongst all the others I met over the past 3-4 years, who might have spent some time working in the UK. Some were on it and some "couldn't be bothered", and there were probably some who even in their misguided patriotism balked at the idea of "taking the Kings shilling" but I personally had no such qualms having 'served my time' in the UK and paid my dues.
In reality I'd imagine, despite the huge publicity here, considerably less than the 300,000+ eligible Irish bothered to apply and that in itself is quite unfortunate when one considers the contribution Irish workers made to the UK economy from the naavies and tunnellers and builders (McAlpines Fusiliers, Wimpy and the Green Murphy!) in the decades after WW2 right through the medical professionals and middle management and public service contributions of the 1960's to 1990's and on into the finance and tech and media/entertainment contributions made in more recent decades. I believe based on our contributions (both actual taxes paid and economic contribution) we are/were as entitled to the millions of British ex Pats that have decided to retire to the south of Spain or wherever (Ironically we may have contributed more financially than a lot of those!) so I make no apologies or feel no guilt whatsoever and if it gets up the nose of the average Farage supporting Daily Telegraph reader, even better again.
Whilst having to pay £800+ contribution per year for the next few years to attain the full pension as opposed to the £180 p/a that I've had to pay to date is but a minor set back to an altogether great value investment in my book and I'm quite glad to pay it going forward
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Past contributions are fine. But it's not clear whether people who currently pay class 2, and have to reapply to pay class 3, will be subject to the 10 year rule for their future contributions or not.
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Annieindublin
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I was there in a well paid job for a decade so I have no qualms about collecting and I always knew I’d get something. More than happy to pay for the extra years and yup, £800 is not great compared to class 2 but it’s still ok.
And I know quite a few who simply didn’t have the records from the few years they worked so UK Gov gets to keep their contributions.
And I know quite a few who simply didn’t have the records from the few years they worked so UK Gov gets to keep their contributions.
Ontheborder
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I wonder what the plan is for this review:
"The government announced it would also be launching a wider review of voluntary NICs, with a call to evidence due next year"
"The government announced it would also be launching a wider review of voluntary NICs, with a call to evidence due next year"
According to what’s been made available online so far anyone eligible to pay at class 2 rates will continue to be able to do so for tax year 2025/2026 and at any time during the 6 years afterwards. So normal service applies. It’s the tax years that come later that are affected ie 2026/2027 onwards.
If you are asking can you just make a payment before you’ve received your normal annual letter I don’t think there is anything stopping you. For peace of mind it’s probably worth contacting HMRC after April 2026 to check that the payment is (a) correct (b) allocated to your record for the correct tax year.
I’m also a class 2 payer and won’t bother paying until I get my annual written reminder.
Would that not be inconsistent though forcing the new 10 year eligibility test on people that were already qualified and paid at class 2 but leaving those that were paying at class 3 with no change. That would mean that people that qualified under class 3 payments before April 2026 only needed 3 years work record in UK but the people that potentially need to re apply to pay at class 3 after April 2026 need to fulfill 10 years minimum requirement even though they were already accepted at class 2 with 3 year minimum work record before April 2026.
That wouldn't make sense ,surely the logical follow on is that they are already accepted now but must pay at class 3 after April 2026 If they wish to continue?
Dr Strangelove
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I’ve followed this issue for years. That’s my educated guess too.
For me no difference as I’m only eligible to pay Class 3 which is still good value.
lfc84lfc84
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Roughly £800 per year
More on class 3 here, albeit possibly based on slightly outdated figures?