Overpaid NI contributions

janb5

Hello,

I have mistakenly paid voluntary NI Contributions to HMRC when it wasnt necessary

If your starting amount is simply the old basic state pension plus an amount for SERPS, then if you already have 30 qualifying years before April 2016 there is no point paying voluntary contributions for years before 2016.

This is because extra years before 2016 only count towards your basic state pension. So if you already have a full basic state pension, there is nothing that you can add to it.

In your case, as you already have 35 qualifying years then you cannot boost the ‘basic state pension’ element of the calculation.

Has this happened to anyone else before and if so did you get a refund of the amount paid? I have paid in £500 in the last six months.

marlot

Yes, the pre-April 2016 and post April 2016 rules are rather different. Whenever anyone posts in this forum asking for pensions advice, the first recommendation is a get a state pension forecast which shows exactly where they are.

It used to be a fight getting refunds, but HMRC have been under pressure from MPs recently, so it may be getting easier.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/article-4823696/Couple-force-HMRC-refund-7k-state-pension-ups.html

marlot

Try here: https://www.gov.uk/claim-national-insurance-refund

Tom99

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I did the same, paid for 2017/18 when I did not need to. I have written a letter as suggested in the above link but have not yet had a reply.[/FONT]

IanSt

It seems it may be getting easier - well at least if they are for Class 3A (State Pension top up) and they were paid within the last 90 days.

From https://www.gov.uk/claim-national-insurance-refund/y/class-3a-state-pension-top-up/yes

If you’re within the 90 day ‘cooling off’ period, you can request a refund from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for your State Pension top up payment.

Your refund may be less than you paid if you’re already claiming State Pension. This is because you may have already received some Additional State Pension.

HMRC: State Pension top up refunds
Telephone: 0345 600 4270

janb5

Thank you all for replying. I did get a pension forecast but despite working 42 years, it appears I still need to pay in for years 2016 onwards....:(

it was impossible to look at it online as I managed the initial security and then because my passport had expired I was unable to proceed.


I think I will definitely not carry on with the extra contributions as it is financially difficult. Apparently as I`m ex NHS ( nurse and health visitor) my pension straddles the old and the new pension arrangements. Also apparently we were contracted out etc.

xylophone

This has been extensively discussed.



See

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/447195/new-state-pension--effect-of-being-contracted-out.pdf

for BSP read £119.30 and for NSP £155.65.

https://www.royallondon.com/Global/documents/GoodWithYourMoney/TOPPING-UP-YOUR-STATE-PENSION-GUIDE.pdf

https://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/issues/3-november-2016/22-paul-lewis/

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/article-3535618/STEVE-WEBB-Buying-ups-paying-missing-NI-boost-state-pension.html

If the new rules give you a higher starting amount, then adding extra years before April 2016 makes a lot of sense. This is because the price of an extra year is generally cheaper the further back you go.

Depending on the years for which you have gaps, you may be able to buy a number of additional pre 2016 years more cheaply than buying them over each of the next four years.

However, if it is the old rules which give you a higher starting amount in 2016 then it would be a waste of money trying to buy back missing years for pre 2016. The reason for this is that you already have 30 qualifying years which, under the old system, gave you a full basic state pension.

Since pre-2016 voluntary contributions only count towards the basic state pension, adding contributions beyond the necessary 30 is almost certainly a waste of time and money.

molerat

You should be able to sign up to the on line service using standard CRA authentication questions, no passport or driving licence needed.

janb5

I could do the initial signing on and obtaining codes etc and then it asked for my passport which is out of date. This difficulty was confirmed by one of their staff members.

janb5

I can see other people of a similar age are struggling with this. Most of us havent got a spare £700 to fork out for these payments.

molerat

Neither myself or MrsM have passports or photo driving licences and both got access to the on line system using the Verify method.