Can I voluntarty pay for class 2 NI contributions if i'm retired?

mikeb222 · 23 February at 8:25PM

Hi guys,
I'm reaching state pension age this year but my forecast is showing missing years, as I haven't worked for last ten years due to ill health. (I early retired on public sector pension 2015) My 6 years of missing contributions adds upto £4800+ and I never paid NI once I stopped working.

However, for the last 6 years I have been buying and selling online and this year I registered for Self Employed because my earnings were over the £1,000 threshold. Previously to this I hadn't completed a tax return because my earnings were less than the £1,000 threshold.

I'm told that I can pay 6 years NI class 2 contributions for those missing years where I was self-employed but didn't register as that? This seems highly unlikely to me, but I know the HMRC does go back to check if you should have paid tax, so maybe they allow you retrospectively to pay the lower class 2 rate?

p00hsticks · 23 February at 8:29PM

This follows on from the OP's previous thread here
Do you pay NI when self employed and retired? — MoneySavingExpert Forum

mikeb222 · 5 April at 12:42PM

So far, they have allowed me to pay one year class 2 contributions for 2023/23 cost £179 but had to pay some tax also as my earnings were slightly above the £1,000 allowance.
Not sure about other years as only one of them was over the £1,000 allowance.
Still not showing on my pension forecast though, or my NI contribution section?
Can anyone claim to have bought NI contributions retrospectively?

QrizB · 5 April at 1:09PM

mikeb222 said:

So far, they have allowed me to pay one year class 2 contributions for 2023/23 cost £179 but had to pay some tax also as my earnings were slightly above the £1,000 allowance.
Not sure about other years as only one of them was over the £1,000 allowance.

The other years, if you weren't registered as self-employed you might not qualify for Class 2 NI and might be stuck with Class 3.
What exactly have HMRC told you?

mikeb222 said:

Still not showing on my pension forecast though, or my NI contribution section?

It takes a while to appear. Weeks.

mikeb222 said:

Can anyone claim to have bought NI contributions retrospectively?

Dozens of people can; this part of the forum is full of them.

molerat · 5 April at 1:10PM

I don't believe the £1K is relevant, it is down to being self employed. You need to convince HMRC you were genuinely self employed to be eligible to pay class 2, did you not discuss that when you previously contacted them ? The rules from midnight tonight will be paying back to 2019-20 at either class 2 or class 3. If not eligible for class 2 then class 3 is still good value and pays back gross in under 3 years, way better than any openly available annuity.