Filling gaps in National Insurance to boost state pension

David_Peckham

Thanks for all the comments.  

I have requested a call back from DWP Retirement Services ahead of the 5th April deadline. 

I am still none the wiser and it would be useful to be armed with some knowledge gained independently prior to this call.   

xylophone

I am still none the wiser

You said in your post above

 

I have only looked at several years tax returns, but I have paid Class 4 NI only and not Class 2 contributions. 

Have you read the link in Molerat's post?

https://www.litrg.org.uk/working/self-employment/nic-self-employed

It would appear that  although you paid class 4, you should also have been paying class 2  pre  24/25 to qualify for State Pension?

See

https://community.hmrc.gov.uk/customerforums/sa/eec39c9e-8125-ee11-a81c-000d3a0d1621#:~:text=Prior to the 2022 to,11,908 in 2022/23).

molerat

You have not paid class 2 so you have not earned credits for your state pension that is the simple bottom line.  It seems that HMRC did not chase class 2 non payers and I suspect the answer you will get is that you were not eligible to pay voluntarily as those contributions were compulsory and  it is now too late to pay beyond the past 6 years with class 3 as your only option for the remainder.

Post up the anonymous details from your forecast and someone will look for a way forward

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

David_Peckham

Update...

I received the call back from DWP and as I am self-employed they said I should be able to pay class 2 contributions at around £163.80 instead of class 3 at around £824.20; and that I should contact HMRC. 

I then contacted HMRC who told me (as suggested by others on here) that I am not registered for self-employment despite me submitting tax returns for over 20 years. 

They told me if I did so (form CWF1 or online) I could then pay voluntary class 2 contributions. 

After doing so I called them back and I was told that I could only pay class 2 contributions for 6 years, but I could pay class 3 contributions for the years going back to 2006-7. 

I told him that I had registered for the DWP call back by the 5th April deadline, so why couldn't I pay class 2 instead? 

He seemed very uncertain and I can't find anything anywhere that confirms the position. The GOV website does say it is 6 years, but that's the position today and I'm not sure if it's different before the 5th April deadline.   

There's about £8,000 at stake so I would like to be sure what the correct position is. 

Thank you for reading.    

Dazed_and_C0nfused

David_Peckham said:

Update...

I received the call back from DWP and as I am self-employed they said I should be able to pay class 2 contributions at around £163.80 instead of class 3 at around £824.20; and that I should contact HMRC. 

I then contacted HMRC who told me (as suggested by others on here) that I am not registered for self-employment despite me submitting tax returns for over 20 years. 

They told me if I did so (form CWF1 or online) I could then pay voluntary class 2 contributions. 

After doing so I called them back and I was told that I could only pay class 2 contributions for 6 years, but I could pay class 3 contributions for the years going back to 2006-7. 

I told him that I had registered for the DWP call back by the 5th April deadline, so why couldn't I pay class 2 instead? 

He seemed very uncertain and I can't find anything anywhere that confirms the position. The GOV website does say it is 6 years, but that's the position today and I'm not sure if it's different before the 5th April deadline.   

There's about £8,000 at stake so I would like to be sure what the correct position is. 

Thank you for reading.    

What does your State Pension* forecast show you have accrued in State Pension so far?
*this is different to your  National Insurance record

How many more years do you have until the tax year before you reach State Pension age?

molerat

DWP know how many years you need to pay for your pension, HMRC decide at which rates you can pay. They seem to be allowing you to backdate your self employed status but only for the usual 6 year period and you can still pay at class 3 for the years beyond that.  It seems that class 2 was not chased if you did not pay it but it is too late to pay it now, if you had low earnings you needed to register to be exempt from paying - no exemption meant you could not pay voluntarily.  It seems they have offered you a fair compromise but the exact details of your forecast as requested above will help with giving pointers as to your options.