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

Just an update folks, my status has now recently changed from 'RECEIVED' to 'IN PROGRESS' so that is a positive for me.
 

Further update, contacted number above (15 minutes on hold but very helpful) and they confirmed that I was entitled to the higher pension but because I was "Contracted out" for some of my time over there, I would need 37 rather than 35 contribution years to get maximum pension! Have 14 years from time there plus 17 years up to 22/23 I can purchase so just need to purchase next six years as they fall due!

Thank you to everyone for all the advice above, especially to @DannyBoyD for initial advice and subsequent posts
 
Last edited:
Another giant thank you to @DannyBoyD and others. After months of fretting that I had made mistakes on my form, received the happy news that entitled to pay the 17 years before now and ones going forward at Class 2. Now I just need to find that money by April '25!
I was so worried that I had marked "not ordinarily resident" on the form and was vague about when I last worked in the UK. I am a British citizen (newly also Irish though!) which I suspect made that aspect easier; it sure looks like they used my cover letter and the supporting docs from my life in Ireland I sent with that as the basis for allowing Class 2 rather than the form per se.
 
Another good news story here, I got my letter today and I can pay 17 years at class 2 to bring my 18 years up to a total of 35. Just in time for my retirement next year . I too had fretted about the 'not ordinarily resident' status.
Thanks everyone for their help and sharing their advice and stories.
 
Great news. Perhaps you’ll check back in next year when you start claiming so we can see that the magic works!
 
DannyBoyD said:
Great to get these updates! Well done!
Click to expand...
Good news also for me this week. I can pay 17 years of Class 2 contributions. This will increase my 9 years up to 26 with a further 3 years to pay. This will give me a final total of 29 years.
I have now successfully made the payment for the 17 years with Revolut without any problems.
Thanks for all the advice shared here. It made the application process a lot easier.
 
Really great info on this thread...thanks to all the contributors!

I worked in the UK from 2012 to 2016. I paid all outstanding Class 2 contributions from 2016 to 2022/2023 via bank transfer. I need to contribute going forward until I'm 66 in 2053. My question is how do I do this? Will they accept a direct debit or can I request to be billed annually? Apologies if the answer to this is really obvious!
 
I just reread DannyBoyD's original post and see that it clearly states that direct debits can't be set up from Irish bank accounts. That's clear now but any advice on how to pay / know how much to pay annually or regular intervals would be great.
One bonus question: how do you confirm with HMRC that payment had been received? Is it doable via the Gateway portal?
 
If you are able to access your projected future pension on line it will show which tax years have been paid. Both my wife and I paid by bank transfer from a sterling bank account for tax year 2022 to 2023. Her account was updated within about 6 weeks. Mine took about 8 months and because of the discrepancy I phoned multiple times to chase it up. In hindsight I don’t think the calls made any difference…I just needed to be patient.
 
Thanks, I am able to see it online now. It was less than one month ago that I made the payment so I'm impressed given how slow everything related to this process has been until now.
 
I submitted my forms end of February 2023. The status in the portal is showing 'Completed' for at least two weeks. No letter received yet. When I get to view the gaps in my pension contribution, it is showing 824 Pounds - i.e. Class 3, while I think it should be Class 2.

What does that tell me? Am I still getting a letter to confirm if I'm Class 2 or 3?
 
The system appears to default to Class 3 - it will update to Class 2 if your submission is accepted.

Although they are slow - 12 months is a lot longer than I would have expected for you to get something back; in this instance a phone call might be a good idea.

If you get a letter saying Class 3 and you believe you fulfil the conditions for Class 2, put in an appeal with as much supporting paperwork as you can.
 
Processing seems to have ground to a standstill. I took the first screeshot on 8 Jan and the second today.
 

Attachments

  • 1706739025244.png
    916.6 KB · Views: 151
Theres a month in the difference - wouldn't be too concerned about that.

In any event, all that matters is that you have it registered before the deadline.
 
dvpower said:
Processing seems to have ground to a standstill. I took the first screeshot on 8 Jan and the second today.
View attachment 8397
Click to expand...
Above date are approximate . My form was received by hmrc on 14/3/23 and has been at ‘in progress ‘ status until the weekend just passed when it changed to ‘completed’ . Judging by responses above it takes about 2 further weeks to receive letter, so still waiting… I’d think the process is slow at present because there probably were large volumes of forms arriving into HMRC in advance of the then April 2023 deadline .
 
tom1220 said:
Finally got the letter (dated 15th January) today. Overall about 11 months. Class 2 confirmed. Thanks everyone for the tip
Click to expand...
Did your letter list all the years you can pay back as far as 2006?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register