voluntary national insurance contributions

sourdoughqueen

Hello there

Could somebody please advise me  as this is becoming so frustrating

I am over pension age 66 yrs and wish to make voluntary National Insurance contributions to boost  my pension. However to get in contact with them is proving completely impossible.
I ring the number 0800 731 0175 and select the options which are all 1 and then it just goes dead .
on one occasion i selected another option 3 and after finally getting through after 45 mins he told me wrong dept and gave me another number 0800 731 0469 which does exactly the same as the original. giving you options to select and then goes dead so I dont even get into the luxary of a queue.

I have been ringing the number for two days now starting as soon as they open and trying every hour for 15 mins 

I am baffled as to what to do next , do I write to them or is there such a backlog in letters that I will miss the deadline next April ?

Advice greatfully received as I am completely stumped     

Bravepants

You can pay online, but you will need a Government Gateway Account if you haven't already got one.

https://www.gov.uk/pay-voluntary-class-3-national-insurance/pay-online-state-pension-forecast

sourdoughqueen

Have gone through that and it says I have to ring them as I cant pay online for some reason. 

Bravepants

There are also numbers on this page:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/national-insurance-enquiries-for-employees-and-individuals

I assume you live in Northern Ireland and that's why you have been calling nidirect?

sourdoughqueen

No I’m in Scotland , but those above numbers are the ones on the pension website . Do you know of any other numbers to try at all? 

Bravepants

Have you tried this one: 0300 200 3500

This is for National Insurance General Enquiries and includes enquiries about Class 3, and gaps in your NI. 

According to this page, where you pay online: 

https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/pay/enter-class-3-national-insurance-reference?traceId=10082511

You need an 18 digit National Insurance Reference Number starting with 60. It states you can contact the NI Helpline, and that is 0300 200 3500 to get one.

molerat

0800 731 0469 is the correct number for The Pension Service which is the correct department as you are over state pension age. The first number, The Future Pension Centre, do not deal with post retirement age queries.  Once they have investigated your entitlement they will reply only in writing, they will not provide an instant answer over the phone, which will take several months as it is a manual paper process to ensure the correct information is given. The alternative is that if you know exactly which years you need to pay for is to write a cheque with a letter detailing the years you wish to purchase and send it in the post.

xylophone

You say that you are past SPA - are you actually in receipt of your state pension?

Did you obtain a state pension forecast before SPA?

What exactly did it say?

You do have the right number.

https://www.gov.uk/contact-pension-service

https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/if-you-can’t-get-through-to-the-dwp-on-the-phone,-is-this-the-solution

Bravepants

Apoloigies, I missed the fact that OP is over SPA.