UK pension rules are complicated, and everyone's circumstances are slightly different. Even at Class 3, voluntary contributions are an extremely good "investment".
I'm giving the figures in sterling, as exchange rates have varied over the years.
The pension system in UK is now so complicated I'm sure even the people who work there don't understand it, and it is always worth applying.
My working experience:
I was a student in UK from 1971 till 1974, then worked until 1978, when I left to work in Africa.
I returned to England in 1980 to get married after a whirlwind long-distance romance. I had a child, and lived there till September 1981, when I went back to Africa.
I didn't work in 1980/81, and could have claimed credits for family responsibilities, except there was a strike on, so I never actually got any child benefit payments.
Class 3 or Class 2:
This meant when I inquired about voluntary pension top ups in 2009, having moved to Ireland in 1999, and been in employment here ever since, I was assessed as not entitled to pay Class 2 contributions.
That's because I had not been working in UK up to the date of my second departure, and there was no record of me being paid any child benefit.
I never queried the decision.
In 2009, I was allowed to pay back up to six years previous, so made Class 3 contributions at the rate of about £700 a year from 2003/4 onward, 13 years until my retirement date in 2016. Some years were £12.05 per week, some only £7 to £8 a week. Later years were around £14 per week.
The total I paid for 13 years Class 3 was £7846.
I started receiving UK pension in November 2016, at a rate of £88.94 per week. There has been a small increase each year, to £121 per week currently.
In the first year and a half I received £7050.
As regards transfer of rights from a spouse, England now treats each spouse quite separately, but I still received an increase of £13.15 a week due to some historical rule, when I told the Pension Centre of my husband's death.
Winter Fuel Payment
My husband used to receive the UK Winter Fuel Payment of £200 a year until the year he died. Eligibility is based on a "qualifying week" in September, and he was unwise enough to die the week before that.
I then applied for the payment in my own right, but was rejected on the grounds of "not enough connection to the UK". I appealed the decision, but had no response. I did receive the payment the following year, but not the year after. I rang repeatedly, and was told it would be dealt with, but finally someone tracked back to the rejection, and said I had received the payment by mistake.
The explanation for the rejection seemed to be that I hadn't paid enough National Insurance while working in England to be eligible.
I would advise people to apply for the Winter Fuel Payment if they are in receipt of a UK State Pension. Unless, of course, they are already in receipt of the Irish Winter Fuel Allowance.
I'm giving the figures in sterling, as exchange rates have varied over the years.
The pension system in UK is now so complicated I'm sure even the people who work there don't understand it, and it is always worth applying.
My working experience:
I was a student in UK from 1971 till 1974, then worked until 1978, when I left to work in Africa.
I returned to England in 1980 to get married after a whirlwind long-distance romance. I had a child, and lived there till September 1981, when I went back to Africa.
I didn't work in 1980/81, and could have claimed credits for family responsibilities, except there was a strike on, so I never actually got any child benefit payments.
Class 3 or Class 2:
This meant when I inquired about voluntary pension top ups in 2009, having moved to Ireland in 1999, and been in employment here ever since, I was assessed as not entitled to pay Class 2 contributions.
That's because I had not been working in UK up to the date of my second departure, and there was no record of me being paid any child benefit.
I never queried the decision.
In 2009, I was allowed to pay back up to six years previous, so made Class 3 contributions at the rate of about £700 a year from 2003/4 onward, 13 years until my retirement date in 2016. Some years were £12.05 per week, some only £7 to £8 a week. Later years were around £14 per week.
The total I paid for 13 years Class 3 was £7846.
I started receiving UK pension in November 2016, at a rate of £88.94 per week. There has been a small increase each year, to £121 per week currently.
In the first year and a half I received £7050.
As regards transfer of rights from a spouse, England now treats each spouse quite separately, but I still received an increase of £13.15 a week due to some historical rule, when I told the Pension Centre of my husband's death.
Winter Fuel Payment
My husband used to receive the UK Winter Fuel Payment of £200 a year until the year he died. Eligibility is based on a "qualifying week" in September, and he was unwise enough to die the week before that.
I then applied for the payment in my own right, but was rejected on the grounds of "not enough connection to the UK". I appealed the decision, but had no response. I did receive the payment the following year, but not the year after. I rang repeatedly, and was told it would be dealt with, but finally someone tracked back to the rejection, and said I had received the payment by mistake.
The explanation for the rejection seemed to be that I hadn't paid enough National Insurance while working in England to be eligible.
I would advise people to apply for the Winter Fuel Payment if they are in receipt of a UK State Pension. Unless, of course, they are already in receipt of the Irish Winter Fuel Allowance.
