12 years of gaps but still Government Gateway say I'm on for full amount

SETMIER123

Hi,

I have quite a complicated situation with my state pension. I'm considering topping up the gaps but apparently i *can't* improve my situation.

I'm 41 currently, and was unemployed and living off savings for 12 years, not claiming benefits in this time from 2009 to 2020. 

Years 2009 to 2020 will each cost me the full 824.20 to top up. With a "cheap" year in 2020-2021 that will cost me only 153 to top up. I worked it out it would cost me 10k to fill up everything before this amnesty ends this April.

It gets a bit more complicated here in that I moved abroad to work in 2022 and am still here now with no immediate plans to return to the UK. I didn't make any voluntary contributions in this time.

I guess the logic on the government gateway is that i have 9 years already and if i continue to work (or pay voluntary contributions) from now till retirement in roughly 26 years I should still get the full pension?

So is there ANY point me filling up any of my gap years before this deadline comes? My financial situation is ok currently and I have some savings to spare. I think plugging the cheap year is a no brainer as it were. 

But maybe I should pay a few years at 824.50 to give me a bit of leeway in the future incase something bad occurs?  Illness, forgetting to pay a year voluntary or if the government changes the rules saying you need more than 35 years in the future?

Maybe I can apply for relief the 3 years I've been working abroad (in the EU). At the very least I should be making voluntary NI contributions every year I am abroad now, so as not in have any more gaps in my record.

It's all a bit complicated and not long till the delaine so there's a bit of pressure !

I'd really appreciate any advice from the more knowledgeable here.

Thanks!

molerat

Seems like a plan.  20-21 as you say definitely, 21-22 should be £800.80 - every little helps.  18-19 and earlier cease to be available from April and most of the rest increase to £923. I can't see as you would be eligible to class 2 due to your lack of work history immediately before leaving - completing a CF83 would get a definite answer to that though Social Security abroad: NI38 - GOV.UK and those earlier years should be held from date of receipt.

SimonFF

Sounds like the HMRC are incorrectly assuming we are after the 5 April deadline and you can't top up any more. Or maybe I am missing something here. Have you tried ringing them at 0300 200 3500?

SETMIER123

SimonFF said:

Sounds like the HMRC are incorrectly assuming we are after the 5 April deadline and you can't top up any more. Or maybe I am missing something here. Have you tried ringing them at 0300 200 3500?

No it's showing me all the years where there are gaps and I can top up. Can't do it online though and asking me to ring the number which I haven't done yet. It's saying I can't improve me state pension amount as I'm on track for the full amount (assuming I work or make voluntary contributions till retirement age)

I will try ring on Monday to see what they say, though they make clear they don't offer financial advice. 

Thanks

SETMIER123

molerat said:

Seems like a plan.  20-21 as you say definitely, 21-22 should be £800.80 - every little helps.  18-19 and earlier cease to be available from April and most of the rest increase to £923. I can't see as you would be eligible to class 2 due to your lack of work history immediately before leaving - completing a CF83 would get a definite answer to that thoughd those earlier years should be held from date of receipt.

Thanks. I did work in the UK during covid and immediately before I left the UK, maybe 8 months or so which HMRC will have record of. Not sure how it all works.

Thanks for the pointer. 

molerat

How did you answer the living overseas question ?  If you answer no I believe it will allow you to pay on line, purely a case of procedure to make sure you understand about entitlements.

SETMIER123

Hi, i applied using the form you gave saying i live overseas but it says i can expect a reply via post by July this year!

So i guess I will have to call the number. 

My gut feeling is it would be a waste to totally fill the gaps as I am eligible anyway if i either work or make voluntary payments from now on. But running out of time!

ereiamjh

Did you ring them? What did they say?
I'm in a somewhat similar situation. I have a large number of gaps but am still "young" enough to be predicted the maximum pension because it's assuming I'll work up until retirement age. In reality, I'll probably move abroad long before then.
I'm torn about how many gaps I should plug. I'm keen to give myself some breathing space but it's a lot of money for me to spend in one go, especially when I could potentially put that money to better use at this present time.

1957DfurdPensionist

molerat said:

Seems like a plan.  20-21 as you say definitely, 21-22 should be £800.80 - every little helps.  18-19 and earlier cease to be available from April and most of the rest increase to £923. I can't see as you would be eligible to class 2 due to your lack of work history immediately before leaving - completing a CF83 would get a definite answer to that though Social Security abroad: NI38 - GOV.UK and those earlier years should be held from date of receipt.

Yes 20/21 obviously, but ... please forgive me if I have missed something, but I would expect to successfully argue that 22/23 and beyond must qualify for Class 2 VC's.  An empty work-history that ended quite obviously by work in UK and a full year of NI contribution ought surely to be enough to satisfy the "working in UK immediately before leaving rule" to secure the much lower Class 2 rate for all the years since leaving? I have successfully argued a less obvious case - just tell it how it is - they are human at HMRC, but make sure you get the CF83 in early so if the deadline passes you can show that's down to HMRC backlogs, not lethargy on your part.

SETMIER123

1957DfurdPensionist said:

molerat said:

Seems like a plan.  20-21 as you say definitely, 21-22 should be £800.80 - every little helps.  18-19 and earlier cease to be available from April and most of the rest increase to £923. I can't see as you would be eligible to class 2 due to your lack of work history immediately before leaving - completing a CF83 would get a definite answer to that thoughand those earlier years should be held from date of receipt.

Yes 20/21 obviously, but ... please forgive me if I have missed something, but I would expect to successfully argue that 22/23 and beyond must qualify for Class 2 VC's.  An empty work-history that ended quite obviously by work in UK and a full year of NI contribution ought surely to be enough to satisfy the "working in UK immediately before leaving rule" to secure the much lower Class 2 rate for all the years since leaving? I have successfully argued a less obvious case - just tell it how it is - they are human at HMRC, but make sure you get the CF83 in early so if the deadline passes you can show that's down to HMRC backlogs, not lethargy on your part.

Yes thanks. I believe i should qualify for Class2s, I've paid tax in an EU country for over 3 years now and have provided details of my employers abroad. Also worked immediately before leaving the Uk and that will be evident to HMRC. When selection the "when should i expect a response" option after filling the NI38 form in it comes up with July.....by post! 

I will try to phone the helpline tomorrow, am anticipating long waits though and shouts of "we can't give financial advice" all over the place. 

SETMIER123

I called the number today. The call duration was 36 minutes and I reckon about 5 minutes of that was actually speaking to someone. So a fair old wait to get through to somebody as expected. 

The bloke was actually very friendly and helpful (hasn't always been my experience when dealing with HMRC!)

He stopped short of giving me advice but said along the line of "just suppose you choose to pay, lets say 3 full years and the cheap year it would give you a bit of leeway in the future"

I asked about the actual process of topping up (as in my case it can't be done online) and he gave me another number to call and they will give bank details and etc and the process.

I'm going to think about it for a couple more days and speak to a few more people for advice, but at this stage I'm thinking of paying 3 or 4 full years plus the "cheap" year. With the real intention of paying voluntary contributions going forward for every year I continue working in the EU. As I said I've also applied for Class 2 contributions for last few years and going forward but will be a few months before I hear the outcome on that.