Is there a really detailed online method to check NICs?

Marcon

nigelbb said:

nigelbb said:

Marcon said:

Update: just received a letter from HMRC explaining that my request is classed as a 'complex' request and they will not be able to meet their normal Subject Access Request turnaround time of a month. They aim to reply by 7 August 2021.

Wonder how @nigelbb is faring?

Nothing yet. When did you submit your request?

I just received a letter from HMRC apologising that they cannot meet the 1 month SAR deadline as it is a complex request so are giving themselves until August to respond.

Just received a huge pile of paperwork.... 175 pages double-sided. Amazing amount of information, although parts of it require a good memory (e.g. the list of employers isn't the full name, but 'how your employer was known to us' - a couple of initials or the first part of a word, so ideal for puzzle lovers with only vague memories of their own employment history!).

There's a full earnings history, which might be useful to anyone who could have a right to a higher tax free lump sum than 25% and needs to confirm their earnings to the pension provider concerned.

What makes really interesting reading is the Scheme Membership section at the back of the pack. There's a complete history of all the pension schemes to which I've belonged/contributed - including their reference numbers. Anyone trying to track down one of the many rebate-only Appropriate Personal Pensions***  available from 1988 on would do well to apply for their NI breakdown covering the years when they think they might have taken out such a policy and look for what I hope will prove to be the magic words: 

'Our reference number for your Personal Pension Scheme's certificate authorising it to accept minimum contributions from you is [you'll see a number beginning with A, followed by some digits]'

***   'Appropriate' was the bit of jargon for a personal pension used by an individual before 6 April 2012 to contract out of the State Second Pension on the basis of National Insurance rebates. An NI rebates was where someone paid full rate NI and the difference between that and the lower contracted out rate of NI was paid (or 'rebated') direct to the personal pension provider.


Anyone got any thoughts (or preferably hard knowledge!) of how to track down which insurer is linked to which certificate - presumably that's back to HMRC/DWP, or is there any sort of database which might help?

JoeCrystal

Blimely. That sound really useful!!! Worth bearing this option in mind when answering various questions on the forum!

nigelbb

I only got 60 pages of double sided printing (120 sides) so I obviously had a less complicated UK employment history than @Marcon as I worked in France from 1997-2012. I know the names of all my employers but still had difficulty recognising them in the codes used.

There is incredible detail eg each of several occasions when I requested confirmation of my NI number is noted by date yet the address where I lived for 14 years before moving to France is missing.
It's notable how the amount of NI contributions has grown enormously as a proportion of salary over the years.

It's going to take me a long time to digest. I was particularly interested to see details of contracted out contributions for a job I had in the 1980s where I got a refund of contributions as I was employed there for less than 5 years. I had chased this up a few years back as I thought that I might have been entitled to a Guaranteed Minimum Pension from them but they claimed that I had retrospectively been reinstated in SERPS for that period with a Contributions Equivalent Premium (CEP) paid to HMRC but I can find no evidence of that in the records I have been sent. 

Jonty6262

nigelbb said:

I only got 60 pages of double sided printing (120 sides) so I obviously had a less complicated UK employment history than @Marcon as I worked in France from 1997-2012. I know the names of all my employers but still had difficulty recognising them in the codes used.

There is incredible detail eg each of several occasions when I requested confirmation of my NI number is noted by date yet the address where I lived for 14 years before moving to France is missing.
It's notable how the amount of NI contributions has grown enormously as a proportion of salary over the years.

It's going to take me a long time to digest. I was particularly interested to see details of contracted out contributions for a job I had in the 1980s where I got a refund of contributions as I was employed there for less than 5 years. I had chased this up a few years back as I thought that I might have been entitled to a Guaranteed Minimum Pension from them but they claimed that I had retrospectively been reinstated in SERPS for that period with a Contributions Equivalent Premium (CEP) paid to HMRC but I can find no evidence of that in the records I have been sent. 

How long did it take to arrive? 

Marcon

Jonty6262 said:

nigelbb said:

I only got 60 pages of double sided printing (120 sides) so I obviously had a less complicated UK employment history than @Marcon as I worked in France from 1997-2012. I know the names of all my employers but still had difficulty recognising them in the codes used.

There is incredible detail eg each of several occasions when I requested confirmation of my NI number is noted by date yet the address where I lived for 14 years before moving to France is missing.
It's notable how the amount of NI contributions has grown enormously as a proportion of salary over the years.

It's going to take me a long time to digest. I was particularly interested to see details of contracted out contributions for a job I had in the 1980s where I got a refund of contributions as I was employed there for less than 5 years. I had chased this up a few years back as I thought that I might have been entitled to a Guaranteed Minimum Pension from them but they claimed that I had retrospectively been reinstated in SERPS for that period with a Contributions Equivalent Premium (CEP) paid to HMRC but I can find no evidence of that in the records I have been sent. 

How long did it take to arrive? 

Mine took 10 days (which included a bank holiday).

nigelbb

Jonty6262 said:

nigelbb said:

I only got 60 pages of double sided printing (120 sides) so I obviously had a less complicated UK employment history than @Marcon as I worked in France from 1997-2012. I know the names of all my employers but still had difficulty recognising them in the codes used.

There is incredible detail eg each of several occasions when I requested confirmation of my NI number is noted by date yet the address where I lived for 14 years before moving to France is missing.
It's notable how the amount of NI contributions has grown enormously as a proportion of salary over the years.

It's going to take me a long time to digest. I was particularly interested to see details of contracted out contributions for a job I had in the 1980s where I got a refund of contributions as I was employed there for less than 5 years. I had chased this up a few years back as I thought that I might have been entitled to a Guaranteed Minimum Pension from them but they claimed that I had retrospectively been reinstated in SERPS for that period with a Contributions Equivalent Premium (CEP) paid to HMRC but I can find no evidence of that in the records I have been sent. 

How long did it take to arrive? 

About three weeks.

Langtang

I got mine in 2 weeks. Great detail, very interesting read. Thanks once again for the link.

ggmf

With thanks to Marcon, submitted a request 10/06/21, and received a large envelope today, 144 pages to read through, as I'm retiring early August, I'll save and read through it then!

JJC1956

I applied for my mother 2 weeks ago, she received a reply a week later telling her that because her ‘request is complex’ they are allowed to extend the reply date by 2 months, she should expect a reply in October.

 I also applied for myself and my missus, we haven’t heard anything, so I assume our applications are not complex and hopefully we will receive our reports shortly. 

Marcon

JJC1956 said:

I applied for my mother 2 weeks ago, she received a reply a week later telling her that because her ‘request is complex’ they are allowed to extend the reply date by 2 months, she should expect a reply in October.

 I also applied for myself and my missus, we haven’t heard anything, so I assume our applications are not complex and hopefully we will receive our reports shortly. 

Seems to be the standard response - but the good news is that my reply arrived 10 days later, despite the 'give us 3 months' letter I received. Looking at other posts on this forum, they seem to have had similar experiences - although I guess the timescale might be a bit more now we are in peak holiday time.