Class 2 Voluntary Contributions, Living Abroad

bostonerimus

Cortiz said:

Having said all that, I may be moving back to the UK after all.... I suppose the best thing is to keep both countries topped up as well as possible.

Generally, you can't pay US FICA or Medicare taxes if you aren't in the US and the UK state pension does not count towards WEP. So, yes, keep both schemes topped up so you can claim both. US social security is usually a higher payment than the flat rate UK pension, if I stopped paying US FICA right now my US SS payment would be about twice the UK full flat rate pension, but it will depend on your earnings and number of years of payments and of course paying Class 2 NI makes the UK state pension ridiculously good value for money.

Cortiz

Thanks @bostonerimus and @molerat .  I guess I'll bite the bullet and pay all the years.

@hara____ this is the place to start:

https://www.gov.uk/check-your-state-pension/account/nirecord/gaps