National Insurance Errors

Testcase1

Two years ago I checked my national insurance contributions and was told I only had 8 years of contributions. I later wrote to HMRC to see what I could do/pay to bring it up to the minimum 10 in order to get the minimum state pension. from the figures HMRC sent me I eventually paid back 4 years hoping to make a total of 12 but now my recent statement/projections show that I only now have 9 years even though the HMRC say they added the funds I sent in to pay for 4 years. I have had to submit a formal complaint to the HMRC about this and I’m just wondering if anyone out there has ever had a similar problem. They maintain that I only have 9 years whereas I believe that it should be 12. I’ve been trying to sort the whole matter out for over a year now and the formal complaint made today just adds more time.

molerat

What precisely does you NI record show especially in regard to those additional years you paid for ?

Testcase1

My record keeps changing when I log in and some years have definitely been amended or changed but I have difficulty in proving this. When I first looked I had 8 years so I paid 4 more to bring it up to 12. Today when I log in to HMRC it says I have 9 years but only 8 years are full. I spoke to HMRC on the telephone and what they see is different to what I am looking at either because the system I look at is not updated or faulty or different to what the HMRC sees. It’s really frustrating because it now looks as if I only had 5 years to begin with and not 8 as I was led to believe and it leaves me out of pocket and short of years. It’s been over a year since I started this whole process and I find it really stressful because I cannot get a straight answer. It was the HMRC who advised me to make the formal complaint.

molerat

Are you UK born ?

If not when did you arrive in UK ?

What year were you born ?

You must have a record of which years you paid for and what those years are showing now.

Testcase1

As I said the record has been changed but in my opinion in error and definitely not in my favour. I’m UK born but in addition to working in the UK spent several years working overseas. The original record, which I don’t have a full copy of, reads 8 years of contributions.  I added 4 years of voluntary payments to bring it up to 12 but now HMRC say I only have 9 years. If I go online the current record as of today is still different to that which the HMRC are actually looking at. My online record now says 9 but that I only contributed to 8 and the Contribution years are different to that which the HMRC handler is looking at. Something is not right. 

Testcase1

Molerat I’m beginning to wonder if the HMRC bought the same computer system and software as the Post Office. 

squirrelpie

But you still haven't answered the question of which years did you pay for and what does the record for those years say now?

I hope also you have now learned to take a snapshot of any information you see online that you care about.

SusieT

Without the actual tax years that you paid for, people here cannot help you. It will make a big difference which years you paid, how many you had before the payment ans how many after. 

Away from the above, you may also find that if you have worked abroad, then depending on the country it may be that some of those years would be taken into consideration to give you qualifying years, but they would obviously not increase the penson you receive.

Testcase1

Squirrelpie listing here the years I paid is irrelevant. Payments will normally say whether they were made from employment or voluntary. If I go online now It shows I have only have one year of voluntary payments yet HMRC admit I paid for 4. Paid employment years are now missing from my record. Even today the HMRC online record that I see is different to what the HMRC are looking at. I spent hours ascertaining this earlier today. That is the problem why should they be different? I had already started printing off my full record long before I started this post but unfortunately do not have the full record only the front pages of when I started this over a year ago. I only have the record that I had 8 years. If HMRC admit I paid another 4 then 8+4=12 but the years and how I contributed have been changed and now they say I have only contributed 9. If I go online now although it says 9 years only 8 of those register payments and one of the eight is voluntary. It’s all over the place difficult to ascertain whether it’s human or computer error and all I simply wanted to know is if anyone else has ever had a similar problem.

squirrelpie

It's like dragging blood out of a stone. You come here asking for help, and dribble out small bits of information, while expecting people to try to interpolate exactly what matters and what doesn't. That's not a good way to get help, IMHO. I for one won't be following this thread any more.

QrizB

Testcase1 said:

Squirrelpie listing here the years I paid is irrelevant.

That isn't true.

• Which 8 years did you think you had?
• Which 4 years did you pay for?
• Which 8/9 years does your record now show you to have?