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Guide discussion: Voluntary national insurance contributions
This is the place to discuss our new guide on voluntary national insurance contributions. We'd love to hear your thoughts, personal experiences, and general feedback. If you haven’t already, join the forum to reply. If you aren’t sure how it all works, read our New to Forum? Intro Guide.'
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NI Top Up Deadline Extended To 5th April 2025
Worthy of a post of its own. Cut off date extended to 5 April 25 and prices held at 2022-23 rates until then. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/deadline-for-voluntary-national-insurance-contributions-extended-to-april-2025
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MSE guide: How much state pension will I get?
Some common questions about your state pension forecast are covered in our guide, such as: * What are qualifying NI years and how many do you have? * Why you might get less state pension than you thought * How much state pension will I get? * How can I boost my state pension?
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Final year of NI contributions does not count toward state pension
I have been told by HMRC that the final year of my NI contributions does not count toward my qualifying years. I am two years short of a full state pension, as I only have 33 years years showing on my gateway account. HMRC confirmed that I did contribute £2619.09 up to my birthdate in my final year of contributions but as…
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Paying extra NI for SERPs contracted out years - does it help
Hi After some help please I'm 60 and looks like I'll be working to 67 I currently have 33 years of full contributions so will easily get to 35 years My pension currently will be reduced by a COPE amount of £38.30 from £221.30 (17%) due to being contracted out of SERPS for a few years I can currently add a few years of…
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Income from different sources and pension tax relief
I have just done my tax return 😁 and it's got me thinking about my next one. I am a basic rate tax payer and, all being equal, I will gross £28k next year. Half of that is through my employers payroll. A little bit is from self-employed earnings, a bit more is from a commercial rental and I shall have a couple of savings…
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Topping up: Do you *really* need to "phone the Pension Service"?
I cannot work out if this is something that is a legal requirement or is just a pointless "nannying" exercise, especially because HMRC seems to send out generic replies to letters (while addressing them to the recipient personally). At the moment I have only 6 full years of contributions, as have been living abroad. I have…
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Class 2 NI contributions
I am no more than 4 years away from state pension age. At the moment I am 1 year short on a full pension. I have no grand children to look after so I can’t use that method to boost the pension to the max. I have no real desire to go back to work but I just wondered why others including me can’t take this approach... 1.…
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Why is "check my pension" so slow to update and so useless?
My situation, self employed for the last 20 years, full time employed before that, full NI record, on line to receive SP of £203.85 per week. All good so far. BUT..... In order to get that full pension I need to contribute 2 more years. This ought to be in hand, but it appears not. Tax year 2022/23 is showing year is not…
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Quick question on NI voluntary contributions - says "This shortfall may increase after 5 April 2025.
Hi, I think I am 2 years short of a full state pension (I retired early in 2015 - pension age in 2035) and the cheapest years to buy are currently 20-21 and 21-22 (£795 and 800 whereas most years are 824). If I buy them now I am getting £450 extra a year for about £1600 so worth doing BUT it says "This shortfall…
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Local gov pension
I have a DB gov pension that I want to transfer . I’m 63 and have left work 6 years ago and now want to draw down on my pension but having trouble finding an advisor to do this for me ? Any help appreciated thank you
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specified adult childcare credits
I have been informed that I am entitled to specified adult childcare credits from April 2011 to April 2021. The letter does not tell me what happens next. Are these automatically added to my national insurance contributions, does this increase how much pension I get? Thanks
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Topping up NI contributions
Hi. In October 2023 I paid for 2 years voluntary NI contributions to top up my state pension which I started claiming in February 2024. I am disappointed to say that buying these extra years has not added to my state pension at all. The amount I get is the same as my future pension forecast as it was before paying extra to…
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HELP NEEDED FOR EXPAT AUSSIE TOPPING UP
I completed an ‘application
to pay NI contributions abroad’ form and sent it to HMRC from Oz. HMRC sent a
letter to say that they couldn’t process it as the form was not dated so trying
to do it online and work out what the best thing to do is. 53 y/o male currently
live/work in Australia. My information states: You have:…
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Gary Millar
how do you change your personal details on HMRC if you can not open gateway account as you can not verify identity
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Contribution on all earnings query
When we set up our auto enrolment 10 years ago, we set it up as salary sacrifice with all earnings and as the minimum contributions went up they ended up at 3% employer and 4% employee and there was a page on the pension regulator site stating this. I went to look the other day as I’d saved it as a favourite and the ‘page…
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Voluntary German pension contributions while living in the UK
Hi! I lived for a while in Germany before moving to the UK and I contributed to the pension system there for 1.5 years. I would like to continue to contribute for an additional 3.5 years so I can fulfil their 5-year criteria to qualify for the pension. Can anyone help me with suggestions or indicate a direction- where I…
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Can an immigrant buy extra NI years to quality for full pension?
I've moved from Ireland to the UK in 2015/16 tax year. So far I've paid 8 NI years (supposedly, tbc, and this year when complete will be 9) and I planned to retire in 18 years. If I follow this plan, I will be short of the ~30ish years needed for the full state pension. I think I only need to buy a couple more years to get…
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Website says "Full Year" but I know I didn't work 52 weeks
I do not understand the "full year" calcs, and am worried that though the HMRC website says "full year" now, when I go to retire they'll do a thorough recalc and I'll come up short. I was fortunate to have good jobs paying above the NI Upper Earnings Limit. I tended to hop about though, and may years there will be 2 months…
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HRP payments
Re Martins letter "HMRC has started writing to 100,000s of people – mostly women – who may be missing out on their full state pension entitlement due to an error in their national insurance records. Specifically, this affects those who took time off work to care for family between 1978 and 2010, as they may be missing…
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Paying my final year of NI contributions.
I am due to receive my state pension from July 2024. I applied just over a week ago and yesterday received the figures which are as expected at the moment. I currently have 46 full years up to April 2023. I need to pay one more year(Year 47) to achieve a full 'new' state pension minus a few pence, as I was contracted out…
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voluntary NI for expat
When I called up today about getting my 18-digit number to pay £840 for a missing year, the person on the phone asked me if I was out of the country that year. When I said yes, she told me that I should call another number and see if I could pay the lesser amount of 163.80 for that year (2014/15). I plan to do that on…
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Understanding 'Full year' N.I. contributions
I know I cannot make any voluntary contributions for years before 2006. But back in year ending 1988, I have a 'full year' with 27 weeks of contributions, but later in 1991, I apparently have 37 weeks of N.I. credits but the Year is not full (doesn't count to pension). Is this correct and why is this? Thanks for any help…