Should I pay National Insurance? To get state pension

A_Nice_Englishman

Unfortunately you won't know whether it's been worthwhile until around 2050 when you can start drawing your pension. Besides whatever decisions British and Danish politicians might make, who knows what else might happen?

If I was in your shoes and had the spare cash I'd go for it though.

nigelbb

Brit_in_Denmark wrote: »

Should I make voluntary National Insurance Contributions?

I was born in 1981 in the UK and worked for a while, but for the past few years I have been living and working in Denmark.

This means I have only made 7 years of National Insurance contributions, and I need 10 to qualify for state pension.

It is very unlikely that I will return to the UK.

The voluntary contributions are 780 quid per year, and I was thinking to make 3 x 780 voluntary contributions to take me up to the 10 year mark.

Would I still be able to collect my state pension even if I lived abroad?

As you are resident overseas you pay voluntary Class 2 NI contributions which are only £2.80/week i.e. £145.60 for a full year. As each full year of contributions gives a pension of £4.82 i.e. £250.64 per year then it's an absolute no-brainer to continue paying contributions even if you never return to the UK. After 35 years of contributions you will have a UK pension to take alongside your Danish pension. At current rates a total outlay of about £5000 earns a pension of £8770 per year.