Topping Up State Pension with Years when Not Working/Not Self-Employed

BR5500

Many thanks again for all your help molerat, I just wanted to double check that I'd have to pay Class 3 contributions to top up as the gap years are from when I was not registered as self-employed and not working. Am I right in assuming, I'd need to have been registered as self-employed but below the NIC profit level to be able to pay Class 2 contributions to top up?

I called the FPC today but they could only take my details and promise to call me back. I am tempted to try again but I've just seen a news story confirming that anyone who calls in before the deadline are able to pay after the deadline as long as their interest is registered before the deadline.

BR5500

I had another look at my NI contributions and one year is showing as "We Need to Check." I have checked my records and I definitely paid for this year at the time so I'm unsure why it's showing as unpaid.

I spoke to the FPC today and they told me to call HMRC to find out how much it would cost to top-up. I couldn't get through to HMRC and I'm concerned when HMRC considers the deadline to be? 

When I clicked on the details of the year I've paid but is showing as unpaid, the action of clicking on the details extended the deadline by a month, I intend to do this will all the other gap years at the start of April so in theory this should give me another month.

I originally got the impression that the FPC provide all the details and the cost and then you call HMRC to pay. I didn't expect FPC to ask me to call HMRC to establish the cost. In a nutshell, FPC didn't give me anymore information than I can find on my Government Gateway tax account. 

Greatly appreciate any advice, I will keep trying HMRC tomorrow but it seems an impossible task. Should I call FPC again? It all seems a bit of a lottery, when I first called FPC over 3 weeks ago I was told they'd call me back but today they looked up my account.

molerat

HMRC are the ones that maintain the records, take payments and decide what rate you are due to pay at. DWP can only translate that record into how it affects your pension and give you a cost based on the information.  Maybe they can see a class 2 cost if one is there.  But to get that year showing a cost or showing as paid needs to be sorted with HMRC.

FlowerMSE

I am in a similar boat. I have 42 years (2 were whilst I was in FTE) contracted out. Retired early in 2011, for family reasons and did not work again. Received my SRP in summer 2017 at 64 years. When I check online it tells me I have 6 empty years. They will only let me pay 2016/17. I don't understand why. Paying these years would not take me to the maximum pension. I have a letter "explaining" the comparison between the old and new pension calculation. Nowhere does it mention COPE. It really niggles. I want to understand why they will only let me pay one year.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

FlowerMSE said:

I am in a similar boat. I have 42 years contracted out. Retired early in 2011, for family reasons and did not work again. Received my SRP in summer 2017 at 64 years. When I check online it tells me I have 6 empty years. They will only let me pay 2016/17. I don't understand why. Paying these years would not take me to the maximum pension. I have a letter "explaining" the comparison between the old and new pension calculation. Nowhere does it mention COPE. It really niggles. I want to understand why they will only let me pay one year.

Because purchasing pre 2016 years will not add to your State Pension amount.

With so many pre 2016 years you can only increase your State Pension with post 2016 years.  And the only one available to you is 2016-17.  2017-18 and later years are not available as your reached State Pension age in 2017-18.

So you can improve things, just not very much.  That is the unfortunate situation for some of those people reaching State Pension age shortly after the rules changed