Voluntary NI contributions

itsme83

My wife is short of 7 years NI contributions to get the full new State Pension and we are going to plug the gaps by buying years. During the years that she has no NI contributions, she was self employed as a Childminder on low income/low profit and hence exempt from paying National Insurance. In hindsight we should have paid voluntary Class 2 NI contributions during this time to contribute to her State Pension, but failed to do so.
Can she plug the gaps in her NI contributions by buying Class 2  voluntary contributions (at £3.15/week) instead of Class 3 voluntary contributions (at £15.85/week)?
That would be £163 for a year as opposed to £824.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

Quite possible, she probably needs to speak to HMRC to find out for certain.

Presumably she was registered as self employed and completed a tax return each year?

Also, might be better posted in the pensions forum 😀

itsme83

Yeah I posted here by mistake. I've posted it in the Pensions forum now though.

Yes, she was registered as self employed and completed annual tax returns.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

I think she's got a fair chance then, certainly worth pursuing the class 2 option.

itsme83

I agree. Thank you.

kim33

I find the NI contributions topic very confusing. I do not get the full state pension even though I have paid 49 years contributions with only one year missing 1977-78 when I had my daughter. I was told I couldn't make up this missing period. I have phoned the pensions help line twice and been given varying reasons as to why I don't get the full amount. The last advisor told me that as I get an NHS pension, the short fall is made up in this payment. I'm still none the wiser.

molerat

kim33 said:

I find the NI contributions topic very confusing. I do not get the full state pension even though I have paid 49 years contributions with only one year missing 1977-78 when I had my daughter. I was told I couldn't make up this missing period. I have phoned the pensions help line twice and been given varying reasons as to why I don't get the full amount. The last advisor told me that as I get an NHS pension, the short fall is made up in this payment. I'm still none the wiser.

Which year did you reach state retirement ?  If shortly after the 2016 pension introduction you would have had very little chance to add to your old pre 2016 scheme higher than the new scheme pension at that date.  You are getting no less than you had earned under the old pre 2016 pension.

CR_Basers

Has anyone found errors in their NI history on HMRC site? 

My husband’s NI history says he has 29 full years of contributions but that covers a 26-year period (1997-2023: how is that 29 years?). My record also says more full years than I have actually worked but also includes fully-contributed years when I had occasional job whilst still at school (in one year, my contribution was less than £10 but says was a full year) but in contrast in my first year of full employment after uni, when I started in September, it says I only have 9 weeks of contributions and paid almost £700 in contributions (that should be Sept-April in weeks, and why is £700 not enough contribution when less than £10 was?).

I wish I had checked my record years ago because the anomalies are over 20 years ago. I am happy that they overcount our fully-contributed years if they stick to that but worry that at some stage, they realise a mistake and say we need to work X years extra. By querying it with HMRC, I risk them confirming errors.

Just wondered if anyone else has seen the same anomalies in their NI history?

molerat

3 freebies for being 16, 17 & 18 that were awarded pre 2010.

If you were paid above the LEL you would not have paid NI but would have been credited.

NI is about weeks and not simply amounts paid.