Incapacity Benefit & missing NI Contributions

RoxyK

I recently had to give up my part time role due to illness and submitted a claim for IB which has just been turned down due to lack of NI contributions.

I started my job in Sep 06 but the SS letter mentions I did not pay enough from Apr04 to Apr 06.

I only found out just before starting my job in Sep 06 that I should have signed on just to have my NI credited as I had been looking for work and that they would have been backdated. But as I was then offered a job, didn't bother as presumed it wouldn't matter. A very stupid, but honest mistake. Never having claimed benefits before I thought it would only affect pension income!

Is there anyway I can get the missing NI credited now?

I'm not entitled to any other benefits as my husband works. The form I have says I can't make another claim until January though if I appeal of course I need to do that asap. The whole thing is totally confusing and any help would be much appreciated.

Unfortunately my local CAB doesn't offer appointments and is closed when my husband is able to take me. They offer a telephone service once a week though but not till the end of the week.

Many thanks,
RoxyK

healy

I dont think you will be able to get the JSA credits now as you should have signed on at the time.

relay

I was in the same position & they paid my IB as income support from National Insurance credits instead, so i still got something. I got a letter from Inland Revenue sometime after telling me how much i would need to pay to make up the missing credits.

healy

relay wrote: »

I was in the same position & they paid my IB as income support from National Insurance credits instead, so i still got something. I got a letter from Inland Revenue sometime after telling me how much i would need to pay to make up the missing credits.

From what the OP has said it sounds like she would not be entitled to IS due to her husband working.

RoxyK

Thanks for your replies. You're correct Healy, I'm not entitled to IS. It's IB or nothing in my case, and at the moment nothing.

I guess I could find out from the NI office how much contributions I owe as to whether it would be worth paying the extra or not. I guess though there would still be no guarantee that my claim would be accepted then. All a bit tricky really as currently I've no idea how long I'll be off work. I've been off for 2 months now and definitely won't be able to work again for a few months at the very least.

I know my letter from SS says I can claim again once a year in January - would they then take the NI contributions from Apr04-Apr06 or Apr05-Apr07? If it was to Apr 07 then at least part of my NI contributions will have been paid.

Thanks so much!
RoxyK

krisskross

Even if the OP had signed on I don't think it would have made any difference to her claim for IB. NI contributions have to made from paid employment to count for IB. Credits from signing on don't count.

stazi

Sorry krisskross, Class 1 credits awarded for a previous claim to IB,JSA and CA do count for the 2nd cont condition for IB. The 1st cont condition does require paid conts of enough in 1 of the last 3 tax years.

However, in RoxyK's case she cannot get any JSA credits awarded now as it is simply too late. Also, an IB appeal would be a waste of time, and would unlikley to be accepted, as her cont record appears to be correct by her own admission - therefore, unfortunetly, there is nothing to appeal about.

RoxyK can now only pay Class 3 voluntary conts, but these only go towards Retirement Pension and Bereavement Benefits- not IB or JSA.

The next benefit year for IB starts on SUN 6 JAN 08, and for an IB claim on or after this date the tax years that will be used are 05/06 and 06/07. This still will not help RoxyK as she says in post#1 that she didn't pay enough NIC in the 05/06 tax year.

~Chameleon~

There are lots of people affected by this because the HMRC haven't updated all NI cont records for 2005-2006 yet. I read something about it the other day and meant to mention it here as someone else recently had problems getting JSA or IB due to insufficient conts that they feel they have paid.

They only reason this is now coming to light is due to many people receiving letters asking people to make extra payments t top up their NI records when they have been working and paying them all the time anyway. Yet another huge government depart **** up!!!!!! :rolleyes:


ETA: the only official comment I can find on this so far is a very small paragraph at the bottom of their website FAQ page:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/faqs/vol-conts.htm

I have received a letter advising that I have a shortfall for the 2005-06 tax year. My employer has advised me that he has sent his 2005-06 Employer Annual Return to HMRC. Why are my contributions not recorded on my National Insurance account?

National Insurance details from some 2005-2006 employer returns are still in the process of being recorded on individual accounts. When your National Insurance contributions are recorded on your account HMRC, dependant on the earnings and NI recorded, will issue a letter to tell you that the 2005-06 tax year is now a qualifying year for benefit purposes. If you do not want to wait for this letter, or you are unsure about your NI position, you can send a copy of your 2005-2006 P60 to the address shown on the letter you have received and we will investigate.

RoxyK

Thank you Stazi for clarifying the situation for me. It saves me a lot of ringing round which would have got me nowhere and is really appreciated.

The letter I have says I may be able to get NI credits paid whilst sick as long as I continue to send sick notes in. I'll give them a call to make sure I will at least get that.

Of course had I become ill in the 20 years I worked full time things would have been different.......but nothing I can do about that. Is a bit frustrating as my husband is self-employed so his income isn't regular. But at least I know now.

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to reply. It's such a great forum!

RoxyK