Confused about topping up before deadline, from Spain

mountaindesk

Hi, I really need some help with the state pension top-up deadline.

My situation: I'm in my early 50's and have been living and working in Spain since 1998. Before that I paid three years of NI contributions in the UK, but have been paying state social security in Spain ever since.

My State Pension summary (from the HMRC website)

“You can get your State Pension in 2039

Your forecast is £113.76 a week, £494.65 a month, £5,935.83 a year

Your forecast

…assumes that you’ll contribute another 15 years

…You currently have 3 years on your record and you need at least 10 years to get any State Pension.

You can improve your forecast”

On the Gaps page, it says:

Gaps in my record: All of them from 2006 to now.

Payable gaps average around £824.20 per year.

I am not eligible to pay these gaps online, so I need to contact the Future Pension Centre which I will try to do by phone this week.

My questions are the following:

1: If I can pay 7 years, to reach the ‘at least 10 years’, is that all I need to do to get my £113.76 a week in 2039, or do I also have to contribute another 15 years on top of that afterwards? (I won’t be making those contributions in the UK, as I live and work in Spain and intend to stay here.)

2. Am I right in thinking that if I can pay those 7 years before April 5th, the sum I need to pay will be approximately £824.20 x 7? (The average shown for the gaps for those years).

3.For the payable gap years, e.g. 2009 to 2010, when I click ‘view details’ it says: “Pay a voluntary contribution of £824.20 by 30 April 2025. “ - Why April 30th when supposedly the deadline for all this is April 5th?

Thanks very much for any advice.

molerat

To get your £113 you need to contribute another 15 years, with only 3 you currently would have earned around £18.96, £113.76 - £18.96 = £94.80 / 6.32 = 15 years required.  Adding the additional 7 would take you to £63.20.  But you don't actually have to do anything.  Under the treaties you aggregate  your EU years with your UK years and that becomes more than 10 in total so you can claim that 3 years / £18.96 when the time comes. You should be able to pay all the way back to 2006-07 along with years going forward could take you to the full £221.20. If you were working in UK prior to leaving and working in Spain you should be eligible to pay class 2 at £180 per year - does that make you think twice about what you want to pay ?  You need to get a CF83 in sharpish. Social Security abroad: NI38 - GOV.UK

It looks like they are extending the dates daily, mine says 1st may

QrizB

mountaindesk said:

1: If I can pay 7 years, to reach the ‘at least 10 years’, is that all I need to do to get my £113.76 a week in 2039, or do I also have to contribute another 15 years on top of that afterwards? (I won’t be making those contributions in the UK, as I live and work in Spain and intend to stay here.)

You don't need to pay any back years to get £113.76. That figure assumes you pay for the current year and the next 15 years. Buying back years will increase your forecast (there should be info on how much you can increase your forecast to, just underneath the big green box on your forecast).

If you buy those 7 years but don't make any other contributions, you'll get 10 years worth of pension which is about £63.20 a week.

mountaindesk said:

2. Am I right in thinking that if I can pay those 7 years before April 5th, the sum I need to pay will be approximately £824.20 x 7? (The average shown for the gaps for those years).

Yes, unless you're eligible to pay Class 2 contributions at £180 a year instead of Class 3. The re's a form you'll need to fill in wirth your work history etc. so HMRC can say what class applies for each year.

mountaindesk

Many thanks to both of you. I will look into everything you've said above, especially the chance to pay Class 2 contributions.
One thing I forgot to mention, I now have Spanish citizenship, but I'm guessing that doesn't make any difference, right?
Thanks again.

molerat

You need to get a move on with that CF83 though, the door slams shut on 2006-07 to 2018-19 this coming Saturday.

mountaindesk

Thank you, I'm filling in the CF83 now, and it asks me "Which type of voluntary contributions payments are you applying to pay?":

Ongoing annual payments

To cover 6 April 2024 onwards.

Back payments

To cover gaps before 6 April 2024.

or

Both ongoing annual payments and back payments

To cover 6 April 2024 onwards, and gaps before this.

Should I select the last option? Do I need to pay ongoing payments too to get my maximum pension later?

QrizB

I'd tick both, in your shoes.