Aussiebird Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 Hello, My husband hasn't quite paid the 30 years National Insurance contributions so far in the UK, but can he make payments from Australia to top it up, so that when it reaches 30 years contributions, he can hopefully claim his UK state pension whilst living in Australia in the very near future. (Will also need advice on how to go about this please). Any advice would be most aprreciated please and thank you in advance. Happy New Year too! Xxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judy Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 2 hours ago, Aussiebird said: Hello, My husband hasn't quite paid the 30 years National Insurance contributions so far in the UK, but can he make payments from Australia to top it up, so that when it reaches 30 years contributions, he can hopefully claim his UK state pension whilst living in Australia in the very near future. (Will also need advice on how to go about this please). Any advice would be most aprreciated please and thank you in advance. Happy New Year too! Xxx Not sure about NI contributions you could check the government website. Re his pension I have been advised by UK international pension centre that if you make sure HMRC have your Australian address they will know where to get in touch about 4 months before it is due to be paid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vickyplum Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 Yes you can make voluntary NI contributions each year. HMRC will send you a reminder and you need to pay by cheque, I think! It's less than 200 GBP per year so well worth doing to avoid any gaps. https://www.gov.uk/voluntary-national-insurance-contributions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
le petit roi Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 (edited) On 31/12/2018 at 20:59, Aussiebird said: My husband hasn't quite paid the 30 years National Insurance contributions so far in the UK, but can he make payments from Australia to top it up, so that when it reaches 30 years contributions, he can hopefully claim his UK state pension whilst living in Australia in the very near future. A bit late to the party but better late than never. I've paid Class 2 contributions every couple of years so now have around 30 years when added to the time I was in the UK. Currently it costs just under £200 per year. The number of years needed to contribute is dependent upon a few factors (age is just one) and not necessarily 30 years. I'm 5 years short, the number of years I need to get the full UK pension is 35. I think it best to obtain a HMRC Gateway account and that will give you access to info without needing to call a helpdesk and also calculate your potential final UK pension and the number of years contributions still required to attain that final figure. Edited May 14, 2019 by le petit roi 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 25 minutes ago, le petit roi said: A bit late to the party but better late than never. I've paid Class 2 contributions every couple of years so now have around 30 years when added to the time I was in the UK. Currently it costs just under £200 per year. The number of years needed to contribute is dependent upon a few factors (age is just one) and not necessarily 30 years. I'm 5 years short, the number of years I need to get the full UK pension is 35. Worth mentioning that even if you can't quite reach the magic figure of 30 or 35, you can still get a pro rata pension. I found out far too late to catch up so I've only got 17 years, but that's enough to give me a part pension. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
le petit roi Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 (edited) 10 minutes ago, Marisawright said: Worth mentioning that even if you can't quite reach the magic figure of 30 or 35, you can still get a pro rata pension. I found out far too late to catch up so I've only got 17 years, but that's enough to give me a part pension. I should have made it clearer that attaining the HMRC Gateway account and accessing the relevant area will provide you a pro-rata pension figure after entering the required data which is all very basic stuff about you. My computer is broken and don't currently have access to more info on this. If I get my replacement laptop in the next few days, I'll try and post more detailed info I have on the old hard drive. For anyone who hasn't been on it before, HMRC website is fairly helpful but its a minefield sometimes to find the right info. I've got a UK property and spent too many late nights investigating HMRC related stuff. Edited May 14, 2019 by le petit roi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 41 minutes ago, le petit roi said: I should have made it clearer that attaining the HMRC Gateway account and accessing the relevant area will provide you a pro-rata pension figure after entering the required data which is all very basic stuff about you. ..., HMRC website is fairly helpful but its a minefield sometimes to find the right info. ...however, if you don't have an account, all you have to do is write, email or phone the International Pensions Centre. Whichever way you contact them, they insist on replying by snail mail, so patience is necessary. However I got a very clearly explained letter, setting out exactly what my entitlement was, how to pay extra and exactly how much to pay, and where to send the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AltyMatt Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 Thank you for this info. I only have 10 years of UK NI contributions. It looks likeI can pay contributions going forward to bring estimate up quite close to the max pension. But to reach the max pension I would have to make several years of back-dated contributions for little perceived benefit. I guess I should confirm with a financial advisor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 1 hour ago, AltyMatt said: Thank you for this info. I only have 10 years of UK NI contributions. It looks likeI can pay contributions going forward to bring estimate up quite close to the max pension. But to reach the max pension I would have to make several years of back-dated contributions for little perceived benefit. I guess I should confirm with a financial advisor You are limited to only six years of back payments. Whether it’s worthwhile depends how long you think you’ll live. Remember, unlike the Australian pension, you get the UK one as soon as you reach pensionable age, and though it may be a small amount, you’ll go on getting it till you die. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AltyMatt Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 Thanks. I am eligible for approx 30% of max pension at moment, but looks like if I start making contributions now I will receive about 95% of max pension on retirement and my contributions will have paid for themselves within 3 years. But if I make the back payments I can get to 100% but will take approx 10 years to pay for themselves. The numbers seem a bit inconsistent so I'll look into it further. thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whey aye Posted July 10, 2019 Share Posted July 10, 2019 On 08/07/2019 at 08:03, Marisawright said: You are limited to only six years of back payments. Whether it’s worthwhile depends how long you think you’ll live. Remember, unlike the Australian pension, you get the UK one as soon as you reach pensionable age, and though it may be a small amount, you’ll go on getting it till you die. I did a bit of work on this while in the UK recently for a guy that is not really clued up financially. You can pay back 10 years they told me.Class 2 contributions are £ 158 per year,call it £ 160.Each year of contributions is worth around £ 4.80 per week at today's pension rate.So contribute £1600 and get £ 2500 every year for the rest of your life. You need a pension forecast,download forms,fill them in,post them back etc.Then do it all again to a different dept for the how to pay and what to pay bit. He had approx 13 years in,worth £ 64 a week at today's rates.If he paid back the full amount his maximum pension would be £126 a week. Call +441912183600 for a forecast.It is a right pain trying to get it done if you are not computer literate and have no access to printers etc.They seem determined not to post forms out. For people that are up to speed I would think it would be very easy,print the forms off,fill them in,post them back and wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whey aye Posted July 10, 2019 Share Posted July 10, 2019 Forgot,you need to be working in Australia to pay the class 2 contributions If you are not working then you need to pay class 1, around £ 750 a year I think. If you can pay class two it is a bargain. The call centre is open 6 days per week from 8 am to 6 pm I think,UK time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AltyMatt Posted July 10, 2019 Share Posted July 10, 2019 Thanks Whey aye, the difference between Class 1 and 2 is pretty big. The gov.uk site must have assumed I pay class 1, but as I'm employed I hope I just pay class 2.Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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