UK State pension - Am I class 2 or Class 3

The cuts are to Class 1 contributions, not Class 2 or 3.
 
Last edited:
Hi Folks,

Thanks for all your help on this thread @DannyBoyD your knowledge in this space has been so helpful.

I finally got my wife registered on Gov.uk and got my wifes record. A few things it says are

It says she has 6 years full contributions. 4 are from working after college but 2 say the following
You have contributions from
National Insurance credits: 52 weeks
This was while she was in college. She did work in the hospital during those 2 years but they were not paid for them is that the reason for the credit? I wont argue with it..

She is down as Class 3 so I assume she is Class 2 as she left and went to australis for a year and worked there and then came to ireland and worked here ever since. Is my assumption correct?

Thanks in advance
 
Thanks for all your help. Just submitted the CF83 online and expect response is March 2025... At least its all in before the deadline..
 
My Irish born parents worked in England for many years. We then returned to Ireland. I never worked in the UK but I did live there as a child and went to school there so I fulfill the requirement of living in the UK for 3 years or more. Does this mean I would be allowed pay NI contributions at either class 2 or 3? If so, would it be worth doing? Thanks in advance
 
Hi folks

Does anyone know what is the UK government's reasoning for one having to pay less for class 2 than class 3 contributions ?

If we knew that we may have more clarity

Is it because you didn't use the social welfare system when living abroad ?

Does the Irish Government claim social welfare of the UK if you are not working ?

It looks to me if you are working in the UK, leave and then work immediately in the Republic of Ireland then your Class 2

If you don't work immediately in the Republic of Ireland after you leave the UK then your Class 3.

Why is that the case

I don't know the reasoning I'm just throwing it out


For example

I was born in Belfast and have duel citizenship. I paid 14 years contributions up until 1992, moved to Republic of Ireland, worked continuously from 1992 in the Republic of Ireland in companies that were Irish and American of origin ( Pharma and Life Sciences) but have no British Headquarters

Am I Class 2 or Class 3

I think I am class 2 but not sure

If I didn't work all those years would the Irish Government be claiming money of the UK government

Thanks
Damo
 
Damo1963 said:
Hi folks

Does anyone know what is the UK government's reasoning for one having to pay less for class 2 than class 3 contributions ?
Click to expand...
Is this relevant to the main thread?
Damo1963 said:
It looks to me if you are working in the UK, leave and then work immediately in the Republic of Ireland then your Class 2

If you don't work immediately in the Republic of Ireland after you leave the UK then your Class 3.
Click to expand...
Yes
Damo1963 said:
Why is that the case
Click to expand...
To be honest, it's their system & their money - they can do what they like.
Damo1963 said:
I was born in Belfast and have duel citizenship.
Click to expand...
not relevant here
Damo1963 said:
I paid 14 years contributions up until 1992, moved to Republic of Ireland, worked continuously from 1992 in the Republic of Ireland
Click to expand...
Based on the published guidelines; this meets the criteria for Class 2.
Damo1963 said:
in companies that were Irish and American of origin ( Pharma and Life Sciences) but have no British Headquarters
Click to expand...
not relevant
 
I worked in the UK from 1975-1996 and then emigrated to ROI.
I recently reached retirement age (born 1958) and am receiving about 50% of the UK state pension (I have 17 pension years as 4 of the 21 years were taken up by F/T education).
I've filled out the CF83 form and sent it by registered post to the appropriate HMRC address, and An Post told me it had been delivered.
The helpful DWP person on the phone said they have a backlog of about 15 weeks.
Question:
Am I likely to be Class 2 or Class 3?
Many thanks in advance.
 
Long time lurker, first time poster.

Many thanks to DannyBoyD and others for all the time they have put into providing members of the forum with clarity on this issue.

I will need to make 20 more years worth of contributions in order to get the full pension and have 28 years left to do so.
So I do not need to buy back any years if I set up annual voluntary contributions going forward.

I left the UK March 2019, working in UK right up to the end, but did not start working back home until Sept 2019, so a few months of a gap there.

It would appear that if I wanted to make a 2019 voluntary contribution, that gap of a few months would mean my contribution would have to be class 3 for that year.

My two questions are;

Does that employment gap when I first relocated to Ireland in 2019 affect being assessed for class 2 now, ie simply starting to make contributions for 2024 onwards and not making up any previous shortfall in contributions? It seems that I satisfy the criteria; living and working abroad and worked in the UK right up to leaving, but I would appreciate reassurance on this before I submit the CF83 form.

And secondly, is there any advantage in buying back years even though I can attain full pension by simply making voluntary contributions annually for the next 20 years?
(I could buy back 10 further years between 2006 and now but I would rather not have to allocate the funds needed to do so unless there's a compelling reason to)

Many thanks
 
Main reason I can think of is that the scheme's eligibility criteria are changed going forward. I could imagine that would be harder to disavow historical payments & eligibility - not so hard to do so to future payments & eligibility. Note, I'm arguing from first principles - I've no special expertise nor insight. Please consult an expert adviser, etc etc.
 
If you afford it my advice would be to buy in now. Bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
 
Thanks both for your replies.
And regarding the first question, would you expect voluntary contributions for 2024 onwards to be assessed as class 2, regardless of the few months gap in employment in 2019 after returning to Ireland?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register