Unemployed and is not paying N.I. illegal?

Legacy_user

Sorry for the daft question but it has got me wondering and hope i have posted in the right place.

I'm at a point in life where basically i have taken time out from work and simply travelling around.

A friend said, how am i paying my National Insurance?
I thought yes there will be a gap but i can always make up for this time lost later on.

He then went on to say that if i'm not paying National Insurance after 3 months and nothing is being credited it then becomes illegal as i have to contribute.

I've looked up on the Gov website and can't find any such information, is this true or am i being misinformed?

Hope someone can clarify and many thanks.

agrinnall

Utter nonsense, I would take everything this friend ever says again with a very large pinch of salt because they don't have a clue.

tacpot12

agrinnall is correct. Don't leave it too long before plugging the gaps, you can only pay for gaps in your National Insurance record from the past 6 years.

alewin

Wow, cannot believe the ignorance of some people.

National Insurance is similar to Income Tax, you only have to pay if you are working and earn above the threshold to pay NI.

[Jay] wrote: »

He then went on to say that if i'm not paying National Insurance after 3 months and nothing is being credited it then becomes illegal as i have to contribute.

Your 'friend' is not here from an EU member country is he?
People who come here from the EU and want to stay in this country must find a job and be working within 3 months. Otherwise they are classed as a visitor and have to go back.

Maybe your 'friend' is getting this 3 months mixed up because EU nationals, in theory are illegally here if they are out of work for a period of more than 3 months.

I think the above is correct.

System

Many thanks for your replies and advice, appreciated.

AnotherJoe

They may be a nice friend, but as said if ever they start to talk about anything involving money just put your hand up and say "STOP"

AnotherJoe

alewin wrote: »

Your 'friend' is not here from an EU member country is he?
People who come here from the EU and want to stay in this country must find a job and be working within 3 months. Otherwise they are classed as a visitor and have to go back.

Maybe your 'friend' is getting this 3 months mixed up because EU nationals, in theory are illegally here if they are out of work for a period of more than 3 months.

I think the above is correct.

I dont. AFAIK they can stay as long as they want. Do you have a reference for that?

Norman_Castle

I've looked up on the Gov website and can't find any such information,

I typed national insurance into google and found this within seconds.

https://www.gov.uk/national-insurance

You pay National Insurance if you're 16 or over and either:

• an employee earning above £157 a week
• self-employed and making a profit of £6,025 or more a year