Key Post Step by step guide to applying for UK State Pension

Brendan Burgess

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To apply for a UK State Pension, all you need to do is fill in the form and send it off.

No need to register, just print off the form and send it off

an overview of the process Keep it simple. Print off CF83, fill it in & post by recorded delivery - 20 mins work. You can faff about with the online registration after you've done that.
www.askaboutmoney.com

There is no need to register at this stage. But registering will tell you what the gaps are in your contribution record and which ones you can buy.
But they default to Class 3 whereas if you submit the form, they will tell you

1) You don't qualify at all so there is no point in registering
2) You qualify for Class 2 in which case you pay a lot less
3) You are Class 3 so you pay a lot more.
 

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Two people have asked me recently "Where do I start?", so I want to summarise it here based on Danny's key post and other posts.

Before you start, you need:
  1. Your National Insurance Number from when you worked in the UK
  2. Your passport
  3. Your mobile phone

Step 1 - Find your National Insurance Number. If you still can’t find it go here:

Find your National Insurance number

Information on how to find your National Insurance number and how to get a letter with your National Insurance number on.
www.gov.uk

Step 2 - Apply for a Gateway ID

Click here https://www.gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record

Click on ‘Start now’
Under ‘New users of Government Gateway’, click on ‘Create Sign in Details.
(You might find it easier to do this on a laptop/PC make sure you have your phone and passport handy as well.)

Step 3 - They issue you with a Gateway ID
You'll get an email.

Step 4 - Check your National Insurance Record

You will see a list of gaps in your National Insurance Record and from the tax year 2003/2004 you will be able to pay them.

A year with a gap looks like this



They will default to Class 3 which is about €800 a year.

Step 5 - Apply for Class 2

Fill in form CF83 which can be done online. [ The form can be done online but must be printed and posted]

Once you apply before the deadline, they will honour that & you can make your back payments.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-security-abroad-ni38

Step 6 - They will write to you
(This can take some months)

The letter will detail all your missing NICs (either Class 2 or Class 3) and includes info on how to pay.

Step 7 - Pay the outstanding NICs
the Class 2 or Class 3 amounts as appropriate

Step 8 - Wait a few weeks
Then check your National Insurance Record to see if the gaps have disappeared. It should look like this:



This will show that they have processed your payment for that year.

Your "State Pension Summary" in the HMRC App should also increase to reflect the extra years contributions

Step 9 - You will get a letter every year to pay your NICs.
Set up a system to continue paying until your retirement.

other information

How To Claim UK State Pension From Ireland

In this video, we're talking about how to claim the UK state pension from Ireland. There are many Irish people who have worked in the UK for a period of time...
www.youtube.com
 
Step 7 Paying from an Irish bank account in euro Could someone confirm that the IBAN below is correct.

Making payments to HMRC

Hi, what is the cheapest way to make payments to HMRC? Is a direct debit or bank transfer with AIB or payment with revolut?Or has anyone used WISE? Would there be a problem if there was an issue with Revolut payments( heard you have no comeback, dont know if that is true or not) Have to pay...
www.askaboutmoney.com

For most people, the simplest is to pay from an Irish euro bank account.

IBAN: GB49 BARC 2020 4830 9447 93
BIC: BARCGB22 ( You usually do not need this but your bank might ask for it)
Name of account to which you are paying: HMRC NIC Receipts

You need to put down your reference number so that they can credit you with the payment.

Your reference number takes the following format:
National insurance number IC Surname Initial
e.g.

123456789ICBurgessB

Depending on which bank you are paying from you can put in other information. I would recommend putting in your phone number e.g. 00 353 86 12345678
 
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Step 7 paying from a sterling bank account

If you have Revolut Account you can pay in Sterling from it.
If you use Wise or some other FX service, you can pay in Sterling.

Sort Code: 08 32 20
Account number: 12001004
Account name: HMRC NIC Receipts

You need to put down your reference number so that they can credit you with the payment.

Your reference number takes the following format:
National insurance number IC Surname Initial
e.g.

123456789ICBurgessB

Depending on which bank you are paying from you can put in other information. I would recommend putting in your phone number e.g. 00 353 86 12345678
 
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Please note this thread is the Step by Step guide.


It is not for general queries which should be asked in the main thread or in a new thread. General queries will be deleted.

Key Post - UK State Pension - Make voluntary contributions to qualify for UK pension on top of Irish pension

Summary If you lived in the UK for at least three years and worked there for at least some of this time. You can make backdated contributions of National Insurance for up to 18 years which will cost you either £163 for each year purchased or £824 for each year purchased. The UK state pension...
www.askaboutmoney.com

However, if something in this Step by Step guide is not clear, by all means ask for clarification here.

Or if you are making a claim and you get bogged down, ask here in the following format:

"I am at Step 7 and can't find where to enter the bank account details..."
 

Key Post - UK State Pension - Make voluntary contributions to qualify for UK pension on top of Irish pension

Summary If you lived in the UK for at least three years and worked there for at least some of this time. You can make backdated contributions of National Insurance for up to 18 years which will cost you either £163 for each year purchased or £824 for each year purchased. The UK state pension...
www.askaboutmoney.com

With Brendan's agreement, I'm going to ensure this thread just has the summary info.

The Key Post thread now has 1000+ posts; we think it might be a record.

Having said that, I'm pretty sure there isn't any question that hasn't already been answered.

So use the search facility first (include my username) and see if you can get the info you need.

If you are in any doubt - **fill in the CF83 form** and see what comes back!
 
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The online registration system is very handy - but not essential.

Folks have been signing up for voluntary NICs for donkey's years before any of this became computerised.

So if the whole computer thing has you tearing your hair out:

Print out the CF83 form, fill it in with your favourite pen and post it (by recorded delivery) to the address shown.

There's Guidelines to the CF83 if you need it.

If you are getting stuck - post here - make it easy for me and put the question number - and I'll do my best to help.

I know there are agencies out there offering to do this for folks, maybe they are offering an excellent service, I don't know. But my view would be to please hold on to your cash and use it to make back payments.

This is likely to be the best pension deal you'll see in your lifetime, don't miss out.
 
Just found this thread linked from the main sticky thread an hour ago. So wish I found them a year ago.

In Step 3 I got the email with the Gateway ID, got logged in, that's fine and then had to Confirm my Identity. I actually managed to find an old UK payslip and P60 from 2005-06 so have the National Insurance Number. But when I enter my name, date of birth and number it says its incorrect and doesn't match their records. My name and DOB haven't changed. I've an apostrophe like in O(')Brien, O(')Connor, etc. That's hardly causing the issue is it?

EDIT:
Found buried in another thread where someone had a similar issue. I'll give it another go tomorrow as I'm locked out and if it doesn't work I'll go the old fashioned route and try posting as suggested elsewhere.

UK State Pension - finding their online system difficult to navigate

Have you validated your identity w. biometric passport? No Danny, thats as far as I'm getting... Its asking for a UK Passport ????? How do I use my Irish one ? Also it asks for my address but doesnt recognise Irish postcode ......
www.askaboutmoney.com
 
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Hello,
Firstly thanks for all the great information. I am preparing to send my payments and trying to figure out the best way.
My wife has a UK account so considering sending it there first and then submit from the UK account, does anyone know if that makes any difference?
Also, I'm seeing a fee of €30 from Revolut for international payment, didn't see that mentioned anywhere here, are others paying this fee?
 
ShayC73 said:
I'm seeing a fee of €30 from Revolut for international payment
Click to expand...
How much is the total payment you are making? Revolut does charge for international payments on top of the exchange fee. Don't make the payment during the weekend though if you're exchanging currency or it will charge an extra 1% fee.
 
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DannyBoyD said:
Link to Key Post:Key Post
Click to expand...
The link above seems to be broken and should be...

Key Post - UK State Pension - Make voluntary contributions to qualify for UK pension on top of Irish pension

Summary If you lived in the UK for at least three years and worked there for at least some of this time. You can make backdated contributions of National Insurance for up to 18 years which will cost you either £163 for each year purchased or £824 for each year purchased. The UK state pension...
www.askaboutmoney.com
 
Brendan Burgess said:
[ The form can be done online but must be printed and posted]
Click to expand...
Is this the case? I thought once you completed the form online there was no need for further action? I looked at the online application form again and it does say that you need to print and post it. Surely this makes the online process pointless. I don't remember seeing this when I completed the online form last week. I would be grateful if someone could clarify?
 
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I understood from at least one previous poster that their application was solely done online. I haven't time right now to search for the post.

Makes me wonder are they putting up fresh barriers if its now necessary to print & post
 
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