About to pay voluntary UK national insurance contributions

Update on current situation re time lag with HMRC and paying back NICs. Found this on a very well known UK website forum, thought it might help people like me on here. My husbands application was sent by Track&Trace at end of October, they received it early November. Looks like there is at least a 22 weeks wait for a letter, but they will honour the application.

Just a heads up for anyone contacting HMRC over VNICs before the April 5th transitional period deadline ( I finally got through after a 50 minute wait - not great when ringing from abroad ) the Computer Says No drone who finally answered says there's a 22-week delay before any letters are answered but that if they're received before the deadline you will still be able to pay.
22 weeks...
Unbelievable.
 
I rang earlier this week and was told it was a 24 week wait but once you are in the system before the April deadline then you are ok. They will send you a letter with details of the contributions you can make to catch up and they give you details re payment etc and you then have 8 weeks to make that payment. Seems to be a very well run system.
 
Re the CF83 form, Q11 is "How long do you intend to stay abroad?" is it best to answer this as "unknown"
 
Hi Funnyname,

I just want to check that I'm "in the system" - what phone number did you ring and when did you send your letter? Thanks!
 
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Hi Funnyname,

I just want to check that I'm "in the system" - what phone number did you ring and when did you send your letter? Thanks!
I rang this number, +44 191 203 7010, lots of voice prompts to go through to get to a human, also have your NI to hand as you'll be asked for it by the bot.

no letter sent yet, doing it this weekend
 
Just received pension forecasts from UK which says I have contribution gaps but doesn’t specify when (assuming the years since leaving UK?).
I have filled in an online form for NI contribution history and just found this thread which I wish I had found months back! To ensure I can get in the system before the deadline what exactly do I need to do ? I spent an hour on hold last week just to get a human to order the pension statement from as can’t set up online accounts without uk address and documentation and getting the chance to call during office hours is very difficult. Any advice would be gratefully received.
 
Hi Claddagh, you need to get moving if you want to claim back NI contribs from 2006, you need to apply before 5th April. After that you can only go back 6 years. Fill in the following form, but more importantly attach a cover letter detailing your employment history. You will find lots of post on this thread and similar discussing asociated issues, so have a good read through, but ultimately, get moving asap.

 
Just an update on the above re claiming UK state pension. Phoned the helpline on 0044800 731 0181 and the deadline for claiming years prior to 2016 has been extended to 31 July 2023.

My own experience is as follows. Worked ion the UK from 1989 to 2003 and was employed for practically all of this time except for few weeks on unemployment benefit in 2002. I returned to Ireland in March 2003 and commenced employment here in July 2003.
Should I be able to claim Class 3 contributions from 2006 to 2022 and going forward? Is there a form I can use for prior year contributions. Looking at CF83
 
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Thanks @Yam1960 .
found out I have 17 full years, am I correct to assume no point buying more than enough to make up 35 years ? Just wondering if I can buy some now and then yearly to reach 35 in total.
Also, I was made redundant shortly before returning to Ireland and on uk jobseekers for a few months .. anyone know if that make me ineligible for class 2?
 
they have updated this and you can now register with your Irish passport as long as it's a new biometric one

found the link: https://www.gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record
@Brendan Burgess - this is a hot topic for lots of folks - would it be useful to have a pinned post?
Great info thanks DannyBoyD......after many failed attempts in the past to access my account online with HMRC, I have finally succeeded by registering my biometric passport. It confirms I now have 27 years which includes the 12 years I purchased towards the end of last year.
 
Hi. We managed to get signed in to the Gateway site, and my wife is showing as having 30 years of full contributions, 3 years when she didn't contribute enough, and 15 years to contribute before 5th April 2037 (when she will be 66). She worked in NI from 1993 to 2003. There was no contribution for 2004 to 2006, but we bought back pension years and forward years to date. My question is, how long more do we need to contribute for a new UK state pension? 5 years? And when you get to your max years, will they stop sending you requests for contributions?
 
Hi. We managed to get signed in to the Gateway site, and my wife is showing as having 30 years of full contributions, 3 years when she didn't contribute enough, and 15 years to contribute before 5th April 2037 (when she will be 66). She worked in NI from 1993 to 2003. There was no contribution for 2004 to 2006, but we bought back pension years and forward years to date. My question is, how long more do we need to contribute for a new UK state pension? 5 years? And when you get to your max years, will they stop sending you requests for contributions?
You may need to contribute fewer than 5 years. I had 30 full years showing and some partial years. I only had to make another 3 years of voluntary NI contributions to get the full 35 years required.
 
Does anyone know if the DD instruction on form CF83 can be drawn on an Irish Bank. Thanks
They send me a letter with a unique reference based on my NI number and a UK IBAN as payee.

The cheapest and simplest way to pay is via Revolut.

I made an underpayment one year and they sent me a bank giro form for £10 which could only be processed at a UK bank branch.
 
Quick update on this. Form received at HMRC this week. On hold for 75 minutes told there is a 24 week wait to process forms
 
Have just submitted my CF38 form by post yesterday (recorded delivery) , I know there is a deadline , my question is if my application has been received by deadline of April 5, even though it seems it could take 8 to 12 weeks for a reply or more, will I still qualify ? Should I make a call to confirm receipt of application ?
 
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