NI Contribution Record access

Cacran

My husband and I are both in receipt of State Pension.

We both had a shortfall in NI contributions.

I wanted to find out if we would benefit by paying to reduce the shortfall.

I can't get through on the phone and I have been unable to log into Gateway. 

I am unable to get through the security questions. The options are Diving licence number/ Passport number/and something about Credit.

We have Driving licence numbers but it is in the old paper form. Okay with passport and have no credit. It needs us to have a photo driving licence.

You need to have two out of three.

Is there another way to apply for the records?

molerat

You can write and request it, likely to take several months to receive a reply though.

Have you actually tried to access the HMRC site - the credit questions are very general and not about "credit" as such but bank accounts and anything that can appear on your credit files.  It will ask questions like when did you take out an MBNA credit card and give you the choice of 2010, 2017, never.

squirrelpie

You can also apply for a replacement photocard driving licence, although it will cost you £20 I believe.

xylophone

Are you both receiving new state pension?

When did you reach SPA?

How much did you receive at the start?

Did you obtain state pension forecasts pre retirement?

Number of qualifying years to 5/4/ 2016?

Number of qualifying years from 6/4/2016?

COPE shown?

Cacran

We are both receiving state pension.
My husband reached SPA June 2018.
I reached SPA March 2021.
We did obtain SP forecasts pre retirement.
Don't really understand what you mean, sorry.

p00hsticks

Cacran said:

We are both receiving state pension.
My husband reached SPA June 2018.
I reached SPA March 2021.
We did obtain SP forecasts pre retirement.
Don't really understand what you mean, sorry.

Were you working right up to state retirement age or did you leave work earlier than that ?
Are there likely to be any gaps in your NI record where you weren't working or claiming benefits ? Especially in recent (post-16 years)
How much weekly state pension are each of you getting now ?

Marcon

squirrelpie said:

You can also apply for a replacement photocard driving licence, although it will cost you £20 I believe.

See https://www.gov.uk/exchange-paper-driving-licence

Should be with you within 3 weeks, assuming your passport has a digital photo which can be used on your photo driving licence.

xylophone

We did obtain SP forecasts pre retirement.

What exactly did they say?

Have a look at the sample here

https://www.which.co.uk/money/pensions-and-retirement/state-pension/your-state-pension-forecast-explained-aHd0S6f725a9