Do I qualify for UK Pension if I have lived for less than 3yrs continuously in the UK?

K

kodirl

Registered User
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Hi everyone,

I downloaded the CF83 application form to pay voluntary national insurance contributions abroad. One of the first questions it is asks is:

Have you lived in the UK for 3 years in a row at any time before living or working abroad?

I only worked continuously in the UK for 2.5yrs so does that mean I'm not eligible ?

Thanks
 
Did you leave the uk immediately and take up employment in another country . If so then you may be eligible. Send of the form and include your insurance contributions from the other country . They will decide but the answer is yes you may qualify . Some or all may be class 2 or class 3 depending on the information you supply to them .
 
The guidance documents for Class 2/Class 3 qualification says either 3 years residency, or 3 years NI contributions will qualify. You don't need both. You can say in the supporting comments of the CF83 that you believe you qualify based on your NI record

gov.uk /government/publications/social-security-abroad-ni38/guidance-on-social-security-abroad-ni38#paying-voluntary-national-insurance-contributions-while-youre-abroad

(link broken to get around filter, delete space to follow)
 
Acceptance for Class 3 contributions requires that you:
  • Have lived in the UK for 3 years
  • OR
  • Have 3 years of contributions even if those contributions were not paid for by you.

Contributions paid in an EU or EEMA country may help you meet the 3 year rule.

Acceptance for Class 2 contributions additionally requires:
  • That you be living abroad
  • That you be in insured employment abroad (PRSI in Ireland)
  • That you were in insured employment in the UK immediately before departing the UK.
Also if you are a person born between 5 th. of April 1959 and 5 th. of April 1992, you probably have 3 years of juvenile for the tax years of your 16th, 17th and 18th. birthdays with no requirement to have been in the UK at the time. These juvenile credits can be hard to find on Gov,uk. They usually show up in the pension forecast.

I was only there for a summer in 1995. The first week I signed on. The next 11 weeks I worked but they were written off because they didn't ount enough towards a full year. My year by year record only showed the credit for the 1 week I signed on. It was the 3 years of juvenile credits the got me across the line. I now have 21 years paid paid and showing on on my year by year record. From 1week to 21 years. That's a big jump.

The 3 years of juvenile credits are not mentioned in Irish or UK media. i.e. the radio or news articles.
 
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My conversations with HMRC and Future Pensions did not begin with "I was only there for a Summer". The conversations started with me saying "I have 3 years of National Insurance paid".

Ditto for the my covering letter too.
 
I sent my online form in this morning. I said that I had lived in the UK for three consecutive years as the form didn't specify that it had to be 3 full years. My national insurance record says I have 6 years contributions so I am hoping that I qualify. I will not receive a reply from them until June but hopeful that the application being submitted before April 05 will be sufficient.
 
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Threadser said:
application being submitted before April [2]5
Click to expand...
Keep a record & send a reminder next month. That you appreciate it might take some time to fully process, and in the meantime can they confirm you are in the system before the deadline.

Deadline has been extended twice, based on an estimate of expected numbers & the processing time.

My reading is that the numbers are well above what had been forecast; as a result actual backdated payments will likely not be completed by April 2025.

In the past they have said as long as the application is in before the deadline, it will be honoured. Thats not in print anywhere that I can find - if anyone knows different, send on the link.

At this stage, I'm advising folks to make sure you have a paper trail, so any delay is firmly on the shoulders of DWP.
 
Thanks for the advice. I am hoping that I will qualify once my application has been submitted but think I will follow up with a phone call in March in case I need to make a preliminary payment before April 5th. I had thought that I hadn't a hope of qualifying for this, but now I am cautiously optimistic that I might.
 
Hi all, grateful for advice, please.
I worked for under 3 years in England 1992-1994.
I have end date of employment on my Inland Revenue form from back in the day, would my start date of employment be in UK pensions system?
I'm confused re. the 3 year employment rule, as to whether I'm eligible to pay additional contributions, as I worked for less than 3 years.
I managed to set up Gateway account and checked my pension forecast. The system advises that I have 6 years on my record!
System advises that I have 18 payable gaps, but when I click on the option to check if I can pay for the gaps online, system advises that I can't pay for the gaps online. Somewhat confused as to what this means!
If I am eligible to pay for the gaps, does the system decide if it's Class 2 or 3 or do I have to select?
Have tried calling Gov UK helplines, haven't yet managed to speak to an agent. They're no doubt inundated with calls.
Thanks in advance for any guidance.
 
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