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

[Noreen8]

There should be clear instructions in the letter you got, along with the dates the payment is due.

Okay great just wanted to check did you contact the pensions department before hand. Thanks will have a read of it again.

 

[JKetch]

Okay great just wanted to check did you contact the pensions department before hand. Thanks will have a read of it again.

I phoned them before transferring the money to tell them the sterling amount I would be sending and what years it was to be set against.

It took about about 5 months for the online record to show the years as paid in full.

 

[Stitcher]

I sent the money via bank transfer. I contacted them a few weeks later to see if it had gone through and it did. Others find revolut very easy to transfer the money.

 

[Effervescent]

Thanks to all for the help with this. Only for info - I completed the CF83 and sent in October 2023. I got confirmation of class 2 for the missing years in May. I made a full payment at the end of May and followed up today as it is not yet shown as allocated. According to the advisor (very pleasant) - the current backlog for EU payments to be allocated is 45 weeks! She did acknowledge receipt of my payment and said that once I had paid, the deadline no longer applied. We will see ....

 

[rollick]

I would also like to thank everyone for their contributions, especially the OP.

A relative of mine, approaching retirement, had lived in the UK several years as a child and worked there for less than a year as an adult. They didn't know their NI number, so I brought them through the whole process, mostly out of curiosity. Neither of us expected anything to come of it.

We found four years of credited contributions on record, and submitted the CF83 form online in mid-August of this year. By the end of September they got a letter of eligibility to buy back to 2006 at the Class 2 rate. That, plus the next couple of years, should bring them to at least two thirds of the annual UK pension by the time they hit retirement age, for less than £4k total cost.

 

[SashaGG]

Was wondering did anyone have the same issue as me. When I add up my years contributions I have twelve years but the hmrc calculator says I have 21 years more contributions to make the 35. Also the figure of my current pension is 92.50 sterling approx which equates to between 14-15 years. As I will be using my UK contributions toward my 40 Irish year pension it would be good to know how many years I actually have. Was curious did anyone else have this. Where the figures don’t add up? Thanks

 

[partnership]

Was wondering did anyone have the same issue as me. When I add up my years contributions I have twelve years but the hmrc calculator says I have 21 years more contributions to make the 35. Also the figure of my current pension is 92.50 sterling approx which equates to between 14-15 years. As I will be using my UK contributions toward my 40 Irish year pension it would be good to know how many years I actually have. Was curious did anyone else have this. Where the figures don’t add up? Thanks

Not sure what you mean by using uk contributions for Irish pension. They are taken into account in terms of qualifying . you don't just add them together to get a full pension, there is a formula.

 

[DannyBoyD]

I would also like to thank everyone for their contributions, especially the OP.

A relative of mine, approaching retirement, had lived in the UK several years as a child and worked there for less than a year as an adult. They didn't know their NI number, so I brought them through the whole process, mostly out of curiosity. Neither of us expected anything to come of it.

We found four years of credited contributions on record, and submitted the CF83 form online in mid-August of this year. By the end of September they got a letter of eligibility to buy back to 2006 at the Class 2 rate. That, plus the next couple of years, should bring them to at least two thirds of the annual UK pension by the time they hit retirement age, for less than £4k total cost.

That is a great story! Well done!

 

[DannyBoyD]

Was wondering did anyone have the same issue as me. When I add up my years contributions I have twelve years but the hmrc calculator says I have 21 years more contributions to make the 35. Also the figure of my current pension is 92.50 sterling approx which equates to between 14-15 years.

Have you completed CF83? Are you paying voluntary NICs?

As I will be using my UK contributions toward my 40 Irish year pension it would be good to know how many years I actually have. Was curious did anyone else have this. Where the figures don’t add up? Thanks

For most people it is better to claim the two pensions separately.