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

Got a favourable reply to an application sent a year ago. I owe the missing years at the lower rate as I was working here.

Many thanks to the crew here! Will seriously aid my retirement. I wouldn’t have believed it without the lessons learned here.

I have a few more years of work here so I’ll have to remember to pay annually as well as cover the backdated pay. Also I gather I’ll have to pay the higher rate if I retire early here. Still worth it I think.
 
Thanks to this thread, both my husband and I have paid missing years in NICs. My husband is 62 this year and will pay this year and one more year of the NIC in the UK as after that he will have reached the maximum pension he can gain from the UK and while he could pay more contributions, he won't, as it will be of no benefit to him.

I'm not a great maths person, but is this a thing for other people? It would appear that just because you can pay to old age pension age, doesn't mean you should. I don't know if this is something you have to figure out for yourself or if by checking your pension contribution statement on the UK HMRC web site, it will become apparent when you can/should stop.
 
3CC said:
I just got my letter today and I tried to make a payment via Revolut. The process seems to be as follows:

1. Click 'Payments' at the bottom of the screen
2. Click '+' at the top right to add a payment
3. Click 'Send International'
4. Select United Kingdom
5. Enter the amount you wish to pay in sterling
6. Select 'Bank Account' as the transfer method
7. Enter your reference which is you NI Number + 'IC' + you surname and your first name initial
8. Click Send
9. Click 'Business' as the account type
10. Enter the sort code and account number and account name as listed on the letter from HMRC.
11. I left the email blank
12. Click Add recipient

This is where I ran into a glitch. Revolut gave me a warning that that account name was not correct. The account name I got on the letter was 'GBS Re NICO Receipts HMRC'.

I was bit cautious about sending this to the wrong account so I just tried changing the account name to HMRC. Revolut then said the account name was close and asked did I mean 'HMRC Nic Receipts'. So I said yes.

I am ready to send off the money now. Hopefully this is of help to anyone who has not done this before. Or if you have paid your NIC contributions before with Revolut and you have any comments, that would be great.
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Thanks for the detailed guidance. I’ve done it now, fingers crossed !
 
phoenix53 said:
Thanks to this thread, both my husband and I have paid missing years in NICs. My husband is 62 this year and will pay this year and one more year of the NIC in the UK as after that he will have reached the maximum pension he can gain from the UK and while he could pay more contributions, he won't, as it will be of no benefit to him.

I'm not a great maths person, but is this a thing for other people? It would appear that just because you can pay to old age pension age, doesn't mean you should. I don't know if this is something you have to figure out for yourself or if by checking your pension contribution statement on the UK HMRC web site, it will become apparent when you can/should stop.
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It looks like you or your husband has already established when to stop paying NICs in his case. Apply the same calculation to your own record.

Alternatively the simplest and likely most reliable method is to log on to the DWP website and look at your pension forecast. This tells you the maximum weekly pension amount that you can achieve based on today’s pension benefit amount (this increases annually) as well as what you are currently entitled to based on your NIC record. Make a time allowance for the system to be updated following latest NIC payment(s). Sometimes this can be several months.

When the two numbers are equal to each other stop paying any more NICs. Simples….:)
 
Kev1964 said:
It looks like you or your husband has already established when to stop paying NICs in his case. Apply the same calculation to your own record.

Alternatively the simplest and likely most reliable method is to log on to the DWP website and look at your pension forecast. This tells you the maximum weekly pension amount that you can achieve based on today’s pension benefit amount (this increases annually) as well as what you are currently entitled to based on your NIC record. Make a time allowance for the system to be updated following latest NIC payment(s). Sometimes this can be several months.

When the two numbers are equal to each other stop paying any more NICs. Simples….:)
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Thank you :)
 
Hi,
I got a letter from HMRC (PT Operations North East England) telling me that I have been approved to make voluntary NICs.
The letter also stated "Due to changes in the law, you need the pension service to confirm whether your state pension will increase if you pay any shortfall".
I contacted the number and the response was that they will send me out a pension forecast.
I can already get a pension forecast on line so I am not sure what that will do for me.
Did anyone else ring them and if so, what sort of response did you get?
Maybe the guy who answered was not up to speed on these new requirements.

I am also wondering if I shouldn't just pay a few years contributions now to "test the waters".
Has anyone got any thoughts on that.
TIA
 
Weird.. I got my letter with a list of lower contributions all old ones due by April 2025. Grand. But I went online to pay and the website still has the £800+ per annum showing.
Does it take them a while to update it?
 
Annieindublin said:
Weird.. I got my letter with a list of lower contributions all old ones due by April 2025. Grand. But I went online to pay and the website still has the £800+ per annum showing.
Does it take them a while to update it?
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The amount is set and does not change. When you pay as per letter it will change to year full.
 
3CC said:
Thanks ohrose. Yes I have seen that thread and in fact that's where I learned that you could retire early and that PRSI paid on income from an ARF would count towards the contributory state pension here in Ireland.

My question is really whether the UK authorities would accept ARF income as a basis for paying voluntary NI contributions at class 2 rather than class 3?
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Hi 3CC, I'm curious to know if you managed to get an answer to your ARF question?
 
I paid my additional NI contributions 2 weeks ago. Out of interest, what are people’s experience of how long it took HMRC to update your online record?
 
Talkinghead said:
I paid my additional NI contributions 2 weeks ago. Out of interest, what are people’s experience of how long it took HMRC to update your online record?
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Me too (for both my wife and I). No updates so far in my case. I haven’t checked hers yet.

Last year despite paying both at the same time and using the same method, her record updated within I’d say about a month whereas mine took 4/5 months with regular phone calls from me to try to establish why.
 
DannyBoyD said:
As long as you have a paper trail, constant phone calls aren't helping
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I understand your point Danny but I believe that there is an ongoing issue with payments to the HMRC going missing.

In my case and after a few months had elapsed with no update to my pension a ticket was opened by HMRC to trace my payment which then eventually bore fruit.
 
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Talkinghead said:
I paid my additional NI contributions 2 weeks ago. Out of interest, what are people’s experience of how long it took HMRC to update your online record?
Click to expand...
Waiting since November 2023 for that payment to show on my pension forecast! I've rang a couple of times and they said they could see the payment.
 
ohrose said:
Hi 3CC, I'm curious to know if you managed to get an answer to your ARF question?
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Hi ohrose. No - I never got an answer on that. It's a few years off for me yet so I guess I will just wait and see...
 
When adding bank recipient and business in revolut and adding sort code and account no its asking for company name and email

Am I doing something wrong.
HMRC didn't give this information
 
SimonP said:
Waiting since November 2023 for that payment to show on my pension forecast! I've rang a couple of times and they said they could see the payment.
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I haven't rung yet but was thinking of doing so. I paid my backdated contributions in early Feb this year and no allocation as yet. Based on your wait time, it could be a little while yet.
 
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