About to pay voluntary UK national insurance contributions

J

JSF221

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Moved to Ireland from the UK 15 years ago and I've worked in Ireland consistently since then except a period of unemployment in 2009. I have 7 full years NI contributions up to 2005 from employment before moving here, with 15 years missing. I applied to HMRC using form NI38/CF83 and I got a reply to say I can pay class 2 for each each of the missing 15 years, except the period of unemployment in 2009 of which class 3 will apply. Total quote to buy back all 15 years for a little of £2500.00. That'll bring me up to 22 years towards the 35 needed for a full UK state pension. From April 2022, they'll send me an invoice each year to pay class 2 as long as I'm working in Ireland. If I stop working, I need to let them know as it'll be class 3 in that case.

I've got to 2023 to pay voluntary contributions between 2006 and 2016, I then lose them forever. I'm settled in Ireland, so have no plans on moving back to the UK. Now, I know the SP might not be there by the time I reach SPA, but it could be, none of us know for sure.

Based on the facts we have right now, it seems to be a worthwhile investment to make, am I missing something though? From what I've read in previous posts, I should be able to claim both UK and Irish state pensions (based on today's rules of course). I'll also have the expected 40 years contributions in Ireland by the time I hit my early to mid 60s.

Is this too good to be true?

thanks
 
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Do it, well worth the money.

As soon as you pay in your money, write a letter asking for a receipt. Responses are amazingly slow, but you will eventually get a reply.
 
Will you get the two full pensions paid to you or will the Irish one be reduced as you have the other income?
 
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Theres also a handy uk gove portal, for when you are up and running with contributions, where you can check your contributions to date and your entitlement. Cant recall the web address
 
I tried that a few years ago but you had to have a UK postal address to sign up - only available to UK residents effectively

Maybe it has changed since
 
I was able to get logged in using my national insurance number. If you google UK pension forecast it'll give you the option to create an account. When i was set up I noticed all my personal details were already there - including Irish address etc. I suspect that was from having to renew my UK drivers licence a few years back when it expired. It's very handy. Shows full record of NI contributions paid and missing. For the missing years it shows the amount due in class 3 for buying back. It also has a handy form tracker so when i sent my application to pay voluntary contributions i noticed 2 days later that they had received it - it then moved to a 'processing' status for about 6 weeks.
 
jpd said:
I tried that a few years ago but you had to have a UK postal address to sign up - only available to UK residents effectively

Maybe it has changed since
Click to expand...
I think I found the same - have to rely on snail mail. I see from @NoRegretsCoyote that they are starting to send receipts; I've always had to write for them up to now.
 
jpd said:
I tried that a few years ago but you had to have a UK postal address to sign up - only available to UK residents effectively

Maybe it has changed since
Click to expand...
I managed to use my last UK address, but it was reasonably recent.
 
Is there a minimum length of time you have to pay NI in the UK, to be eligible to continue to pay class 2/3, after you leave?
 
Can you top up your UK state pension OR transfer years from UK to ROI to improve your Irish state pension OR do a mix of both?
 
www.gov.uk

Voluntary National Insurance

National Insurance contributions you can choose to pay when you have a gap in your National Insurance record.
www.gov.uk www.gov.uk

Living and working abroadClass 2 - but only if you worked in the UK immediately before leaving, and you’ve previously lived in the UK for at least 3 years in a row or paid at least 3 years of contributions
Living abroad but not workingClass 3 - but only if at some point you’ve lived in the UK for at least 3 years in a row or paid at least 3 years of contributions
 
NoRegretsCoyote said:
Check this with them. They let me pay Class 3 after only working in the UK ten months.
Click to expand...

All published docs I've seen indicate three years minimum in the UK.

@NoRegretsCoyote wonder was there some extenuating circumstance that allowed you to get approved for less?

I worked in the UK for a little under two years in the 90's but thought I would be ineligible for voluntary NI contributions.

Thanks
Stan
 
My own record was projected to be £86pw which I can increase to £168pw in 14 years time.

The current class 2 rate that I pay is about £159pa so I need to pay just over £2,200 in todays money over the coming years to enhance my own pension by an additional £4264pa which can also be inherited by my wife and is currently payable in addition to my Irish state pension.

You really would struggle to find a better way of putting aside some money.

joom.ag

UK State Pensions

Our aim is to help you to navigate these various rules and regulations and make a more informed choice about whether or not to top up your UK State pension
joom.ag joom.ag
 
I'd love to hear from anyone who is successfully drawing two state pensions , UK and Ireland, especially if one of them is full.
I'll have enough for a full UK one, and easily qualify for a partial Irish one .
 
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