How to proceed after being declined U.K. pension?

O

Obairchrua

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Hi, I’ve been trying to pursue a possible UK pension after being alerted to it by a work colleague to it a few years ago. This site has really informed me and helped me in my application but unfortunately I have hit a roadblock in pursuit of it.

My story is…

I worked in the UK for 3.5 years in late 80s. I was an employee at first for approx. 6 mths and then worked in the construction sector on a contractor basis. I was paid hourly/daily and tax & NI was deducted at source.

I applied in 2022 to the DWP in Newcastle to check for state pension eligibility and received a letter late 2022 saying I did indeed have 3 years on my NI record and offering me to fill the gaps in my contribution record to enhance any potential pension. So far so good but when I pursued it to the next level to maximise any pension, I got a letter saying I was ineligible to pay further into this as I did not have the required 3 yrs of contributions paid.

I spoke with them by phone and was told that I did have ‘some’ record of contributions but their record did not match with my experience.
I worked there for various different employers yet my NI record seems almost non existent and there are some ‘ghost’ contributions for when I was not in the UK some years after I had returned.

I have worked in Ireland as an employee full time since returning from UK in 1990. I worked in Ireland for 2 yrs before going to UK. Also, other possibly irrelevant info, I was born in UK to Irish parents and lived there until aged 3.

I worked in UK and paid tax & NI in good faith so I assumed I would be eligible to qualify for this but it appears that I don’t.

I’m not sure how to proceed with this. Any advice greatly appreciated.
 
Thanks for replies.

No, I don't have payslips or any supporting documentation unfortunately only employers' names.

Yes, it is possible the employers did not pass on the deductions but there were many employers so I think it would be unlikely they would have been all rogue
 
Do you have any witnesses like former work mates who could confirm your details?
I know about cases going back more than 30 years here in Ireland where the DoSP accepted the word of former colleagues in similar circumstances ( employer not paying the PSRI contributions) and awarded the missing contributions without further fuss.
 
If you can log into the Government Gateway, it will show what has been contributed each year, so you will be able to work out where the gaps are
 
picorette said:
If you can log into the Government Gateway, it will show what has been contributed each year, so you will be able to work out where the gaps are
Click to expand...
And if you can't get in, HMRC will need to let you see your data anyway so just ask them.
 
When I enter my record on the Gov.UK website it tells me I have 3 years of full contributions. It then lists all years back to 1986, which incidentally was the year I started working there, saying that each year is not full and when I open each year it says “You did not make any contributions this year”.

I’m just thinking though, I submitted tax returns for each year I was there in order to avail of tax free allowances and qualifying expenses so there must be some record somewhere of me working there!
 
Perhaps a D.S.A.R data subject access request from her majesty HRMS. I worked there for those years. When I enquired about my records of N.I paid by employers, they actually issued me with the details through a DSAR. There was also some mention of lost records in and around those years 1986 to possibly 1990.
 
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