Do credited contributions as a teenager count toward the 35 years?

D

Dr Strangelove

Registered User
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I worked in the UK 2006 to 2007 and qualify to make Class 3 voluntary NICs.

I was credited three years as a teenager long before I moved to the UK. I've read that this is standard for a lot of people, see picture.



Do these credited teenage contributions count toward the 35 years needed for a full state pension?

I think the answer is yes but just want to be sure in advance of deadline.
 
Out of curiosity where is the info from? A paper record? It doesn't look like how others see it online, a good bit more detail.
 
@mmclo There is an absolute mountain of info about NI in the National Insurance Manual on the official Gov.uk website here.
https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/national-insurance-manual

I think this is similar to our Dept of Social Protection "Operational Guidelines" but i wait to be corrected
From above page
Go to NIM41000
then NIM41200
and finally NIM41210
and you will find the info on starter credits.

Anyone who was 16 in 74/75 tax year (they got the very first starter credits to be awarded), is now 66 (pension age) in the 2024/25 tax year. I think we might have heard by now, if the starter credits were cancelled on pension application.
 
I'm down the rabbit hole now so may as well keep reading

They definitely apply towards 10 years and 35 years if you have them.

Less clear how they relate to eligibility to pay voluntary contributions assuming this is not the same as above and less clear again in terms of qualifying for class 2 (on 3 year contributions basis)

My reading suggests credits are not always treated the same as paid contributions

I keep seeing "paid" contribution's a lot on official sites, also mentioned "treated as paid" but this seems to be related to self employment

***

Interestingly they distinguish between "deemed" to have been paid and "treated" as having being paid...think I need a rest!

Some good stuff there about missing contributions where it is not the employees fault, may be useful to some.
 
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So thanks to @Giggs11 for the above, quite a treasure trove. It has a slightly different more detailed explanation of the 3 years of contributions

  • in at least three tax years from April 1975, has paid contributions which give an earnings factor of at least 50 times the LEL up to April 1978, or 52 times the LEL from April 1978.
Click to expand...

Could well explain why those with shorter periods qualify, LEL is the minimum income that you pay NI on (I think), not clear then if you paid more it could provide you with more "multiples" leading to more than 156 in less then 3 full years?

And possibly most important for starter credits

But I optimistically note the word "entirely"
 
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the question posed was in relation to a very specific set of circumstances regarding Class 2 eligibility.

When @Dr Strangelove goes to pick up their pension, several decades hence ( ) the "3 years credit" are counted as contributory years.
 
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I got a new passport and got set up with a government gateway account. Prior to this I had only communicated with HMRC via letter. So I logged on to see my NI online record and got a bit of a surprise.

There is no record at all of credited contributions for 97/98, 98/99, and 99/00 that I got via hard copy letter a few years ago, see first post. The first year mentioned on my online record is 2004/05 when I moved to the UK, I didn't work until 06/07.





My record shows "full year" ten times via paid and voluntary contributions (06/07-14/15 and 20/21). But my forecast suggests something different (see below). It implies that I have 13 full years. I'm assuming this as £85.53/£230.25=13/35.




So even though the online record suggests I have only 10 full years the forecast suggests that I have 13.

Which is right?

Has anyone else had this issue?
 
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