Anxious & Overwhelmed by NI deadline

Off_Grid_Regerts

Hi,

I tried to get on top of this years ago, when my mental health took a nose dive, and I knew I wasn’t going to be working, but did not want to claim benefits (employment, or medical) due to the added stress, and my sense of shame / stigma - I just wanted to pay my NI contributions, and disappear off grid for a while. 

Unfortunately, it was a different time, and the local Jobcentre staff were either disinterested, or hostile, and judgmental - the ensuing Kafkaesque trial resulted in me having a full on panic attack, not getting the information, or assistance I needed, and my voluntary NI contributions being up in the air.

Needless to say, any time the topic comes up, I go into anxiety overdrive, and just lock up.

In the process of trying to sort this out now (and with the benefit of a being able to directly view the information, on the government website), I can see that there is a period of about 5 years where I’ve paid between 46 - 50 weeks contributions.

The problem in that case, is that they’re all just prior to the 2006 cut off date.

In every official reference to buying back missed years (irrespective of whether or not the current extended period is mentioned) the document says you can usually only buy back 6 years.

That indicates there is some wiggle room, and negotiation possible (perhaps in cases where the year is already mostly paid for) : 

Question 1 - how do I go about making a case to pay those missing few weeks off, and who do I talk to - would the phone call to the Future Pensions Centre be able to take care of this?

During the extended period where I was neither able to work, nor was I claiming benefits, there were times when I was able to take on short periods of work, on a freelance basis.

I was advised several times (including in the aforementioned meeting at the Jobcentre), by a variety of sources, that because I would earn below the tax threshold, it was not necessary for me to register as Self Employed.

Obviously, if I’d been given the correct information with regards to voluntary National Insurance contributions, I would have registered as Self Employed, even if my self assessment showed next to no income / profit in a given year :

Question 2 - is it possible to retrospectively register as Self Employed, and how do I go about that?

Question 3 - would retrospectively registering as Self Employed leave me exposed to fines, and late fees for not submitting self assessment forms during those years, even if earnings were below the tax threshold?

And finally, with regards to phoning / getting a callback from the Future Pensions Centre (which is sending my anxiety levels through the roof) :

Question 4 - can the callback be in any way scheduled, or will it just come at random (can it be rescheduled if they call at an inconvenient time)?

Question 5 - do you only get one call to figure it all out, or can it span multiple calls, once your case is open, to gather info etc?

Question 6 - once you have figured out how much you owe / want to buy back, how long do you have to pay HMRC once you have the 18 digit number?

Huge thanks to anyone who can help me sort this out successfully.

(and apologies for the length of this)

Dazed_and_C0nfused

Have you actually checked what the current amount you have already accrued is?

Just because there are gaps available to nuy doesn't mean you have to pay them or that they will add anything to your State Pension entitlement.

Before worrying about those gaps you really do need to understand what you are going to be entitled of you do nothing.

Post the full details from your State Pension forecast if you need it explaining (without your name/National insurance number).

Off_Grid_Regerts

I’ve checked my projected pension, which is currently about 3/4 of the full amount, before buying back any missing years - so those 5 years that I’ve 90% already paid for are definitely worth grabbing.

Of course, there comes a point where it might make more sense to not buy everything back, and hold out for pension credit, but who knows if those will still exist by the time I retire in ~20 years.

QrizB

Off_Grid_Regerts said:

... I can see that there is a period of about 5 years where I’ve paid between 46 - 50 weeks contributions.

The problem in that case, is that they’re all just prior to the 2006 cut off date.

Question 1 - how do I go about making a case to pay those missing few weeks off, and who do I talk to - would the phone call to the Future Pensions Centre be able to take care of this?

I guess you could try to make a case to enough MPs that they change the law, but (short of doing that) years prior to 2006 are definitely not available to buy / top up. Forget about those ones.

molerat

Without posting the precise info from your forecast, it is totally anonymous - no one can identify you from it, no one can give any useful help.

Current weekly £££.pp amount up to April 2024.
Number of full NI years 15-16 and earlier
Number of full NI years 16-17 and later
Tax year you reach state retirement
Any COPE amount.  If you have "You've been in a contracted-out pension scheme" on your forecast then click
here https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/check-your-state-pension/account/cope whilst logged into your tax account
Years which show not full and prices

Sarahspangles

If those years are pre-2006 then they’re not in scope of the current opportunity/deadline, so if you are feeling there is time pressure because of the cut off date you can let that go.

I doubt that the Future Pensions Centre would attempt to discuss and resolve something so complex via a phone call and you’d quickly be asked to email or write. So there’s no point worrying about that either. 

I’d focus right now on finding out if there is an easier way to qualify for the pension by providing the information Molerat suggests.

Off_Grid_Regerts

First of all, thanks to everyone for responding (apologies for not replying sooner, I’m currently working full tilt, with little opportunity to check in here).

Sorry if I was unclear earlier; I already know that by the time I reach retirement age, I will have accrued 25 years of qualifying contributions (which is why I was hoping I might be able to claw back those few missing weeks, from those 5 incomplete years).

Obviously, it would be cheaper to only have to buy back 5 full years, but seeing as those aforementioned “incomplete” 5 years are off the table, I’m faced with buying back 10 full years.

That’s ~£8500 at Class 3, which is beyond my means, and not the rate that I should be paying.

For Class 2 it works out ~£2000, which is much more manageable, and the rate I should be paying - though for the reasons I mentioned in my first post, I hadn’t registered as Self Employed - which brings me back to my original questions :

Question 2 - is it possible to retrospectively register as Self Employed, and how do I go about that?

Question 3 - would retrospectively registering as Self Employed leave me exposed to fines, and late fees for not submitting self assessment forms during those years, even if earnings were below the tax threshold?



If anybody can help answer those two questions, I’d greatly appreciate it.

Many thanks.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

Off_Grid_Regerts said:

First of all, thanks to everyone for responding (apologies for not replying sooner, I’m currently working full tilt, with little opportunity to check in here).

Sorry if I was unclear earlier; I already know that by the time I reach retirement age, I will have accrued 25 years of qualifying contributions (which is why I was hoping I might be able to claw back those few missing weeks, from those 5 incomplete years).

Obviously, it would be cheaper to only have to buy back 5 full years, but seeing as those aforementioned “incomplete” 5 years are off the table, 

That’s ~£8500 at Class 3, which is beyond my means, and not the rate that I should be paying.

For Class 2 it works out ~£2000, which is much more manageable, and the rate I should be paying - though for the reasons I mentioned in my first post, I hadn’t registered as Self Employed - which brings me back to my original questions :

Question 2 - is it possible to retrospectively register as Self Employed, and how do I go about that?

Question 3 - would retrospectively registering as Self Employed leave me exposed to fines, and late fees for not submitting self assessment forms during those years, even if earnings were below the tax threshold?

If anybody can help answer those two questions, I’d greatly appreciate it.

Many thanks.

You seem to ignored plenty of the previous comments.

Can you explain why, as someone with pre 2016 NI history, you think having 35 years is relevant to you 🤔

You honestly would make far more progress if you provided the information @molerat suggested.

And no, you cannot be fined for not completing a tax return you haven't been asked to complete.  There can be other tax based penalties though.