NI Top Up Contributions: Computer Says "NO" (not needed), but mysterious reason why!

german_keeper

CCxCP01 said:

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

CCxCP01 said:

I’m an Irish national (Rep. of Ireland), and have lived in the UK since 1987, when I came here to study, before starting working here (and contributing Full Years to NI in 1989-1990 and every year subsequently until 2020-2021).

When I was lucky enough to be able to retire, just before my 61st birthday in 2022, I checked my NI Contributions and my prospective State Pension on the .GOV website. The website at that time told me that I would be eligible for the Full State Pension when I become eligible to receive this, in 2028.

Earlier this year, Martin promoted checking to see if any additional contributions might be needed for my State Pension. I followed his lead, and discovered that, at that point, apparently I was 3 years short on NI Contributions, and would need to pay approximately £2400 to buy back the years from 2021 to 2023. So I registered for a callback to arrange further contributions.

I received the initial callback this morning (July 30th, 2025), and in the discussion, I was told that I DO have the full 35-years’ worth of NI Contributions, and I AM eligible for the Full State Pension when it becomes due. However, I pointed out that according to my NI Record page on their site, I only have 32 years contributions, according to the NI Record I printed off in March 2025 (1989-1990 to 2020-2021 = 32 years). The Pension Team caller told me he could see that I had Juvenile Contributions for some years (from 1977 - 1979, I think). I explained that, as I was not living in the UK at that stage, I couldn’t have made these contributions. He was insistent that I WAS fully-covered for NI contributions and that I DID NOT need to make any top-up payments. I believe that I DO need to make payments to cover 2021-2022, 2022-2023, and 2023-2024, as detailed in the NI Record, as I couldn't have made the Juvenile contributions he reported, but he insisted that the Computer said “NO”, not needed (in fact it was saying “YES”, fully-covered!), so I had no need to worry. He then said he will send me a letter to confirm this finding, for my records, which I can refer to, should my State Pension not be the full amount when I finally do receive my State Pension.

However, I would prefer to have everything sorted sooner rather than later regarding this, and I was wondering if (a) this is a situation that anyone on here has encountered previously, and (b) if you have any guidance you think I should follow to make sure I don’t miss out.

Thank you for reviewing this post, and I hope I’ve made myself clear. I look  forward to thoughts as to what I should/should not do next. 

Why do you think 35 years is of the slightest relevance to you 🤔

Have you even read the full detail of your State Pension forecast?

Thanks for responding, Dazed and C0nfused. 
I thought the 35-years issue was relevant, as Martin L repeatedly referenced it in his TV programmes in March, but now it seems it is a red herring for people at my point in the pension eligibility cycle.
And yes, I had read my Full Pension Forecast, which stated that I was eligible for the full pension, but my NI Record indicated a short fall in years (which I now accept is the red herring). But matters were further confused for me by the Future Pensions operative who told me I had Juvenile Contributions from my teens, which couldn't have happened as I was not living in the UK (and as an Irish resident, would not have been eligible for these anyway). He couldn't explain that to me, but did reassure me that I was still on track for the full pension when I come due. I posted my query just to see if anyone on here thought I might need to do anything further to ensure I received the full pension, as I didn't want to miss out due to an error in registering juvenile contributions. But as my forecast DOES state I will receive the full amount, I'll accept that now, given the years' issue isn't relevant to me. Thanks for your contribution.

Firstly I should explain that I have a bit of a bee in my bonnet about this issue.

I wonder if you could explain why you believe Martin Lewis led you to believe that 35 was the magic number. He continually talks about 35 "ish" which to me and I suspect most people means maybe 34 or 36 or thereabouts. The reality is that 35 years only becomes relevant in about 40 or 50 years time. 

eskbanker

german_keeper said:

Firstly I should explain that I have a bit of a bee in my bonnet about this issue.

I wonder if you could explain why you believe Martin Lewis led you to believe that 35 was the magic number. He continually talks about 35 "ish" which to me and I suspect most people means maybe 34 or 36 or thereabouts. The reality is that 35 years only becomes relevant in about 40 or 50 years time. 

Many posters have a bit of a bee in the bonnet about this, as it must be one of the most frequent misunderstandings expressed on here, as evidenced by the hundreds (at least) of posters who've been under the misapprehension that 35 is a relevant number!

ML and MSE undoubtedly don't help, with daft statements like:

Most people now need roughly 35 years to qualify for the full new State Pension of currently £230.25 per week for a single person.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/discount-pensions/

As covered extensively on other threads, the range is vast, rather than being 35 +/- 1 or 2 years, in that figures like 28 and 50 have been mentioned previously, so 'roughly 35' really doesn't begin to approach an accurate summary!

CCxCP01

german_keeper said:

CCxCP01 said:

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

CCxCP01 said:

I’m an Irish national (Rep. of Ireland), and have lived in the UK since 1987, when I came here to study, before starting working here (and contributing Full Years to NI in 1989-1990 and every year subsequently until 2020-2021).

When I was lucky enough to be able to retire, just before my 61st birthday in 2022, I checked my NI Contributions and my prospective State Pension on the .GOV website. The website at that time told me that I would be eligible for the Full State Pension when I become eligible to receive this, in 2028.

Earlier this year, Martin promoted checking to see if any additional contributions might be needed for my State Pension. I followed his lead, and discovered that, at that point, apparently I was 3 years short on NI Contributions, and would need to pay approximately £2400 to buy back the years from 2021 to 2023. So I registered for a callback to arrange further contributions.

I received the initial callback this morning (July 30th, 2025), and in the discussion, I was told that I DO have the full 35-years’ worth of NI Contributions, and I AM eligible for the Full State Pension when it becomes due. However, I pointed out that according to my NI Record page on their site, I only have 32 years contributions, according to the NI Record I printed off in March 2025 (1989-1990 to 2020-2021 = 32 years). The Pension Team caller told me he could see that I had Juvenile Contributions for some years (from 1977 - 1979, I think). I explained that, as I was not living in the UK at that stage, I couldn’t have made these contributions. He was insistent that I WAS fully-covered for NI contributions and that I DID NOT need to make any top-up payments. I believe that I DO need to make payments to cover 2021-2022, 2022-2023, and 2023-2024, as detailed in the NI Record, as I couldn't have made the Juvenile contributions he reported, but he insisted that the Computer said “NO”, not needed (in fact it was saying “YES”, fully-covered!), so I had no need to worry. He then said he will send me a letter to confirm this finding, for my records, which I can refer to, should my State Pension not be the full amount when I finally do receive my State Pension.

However, I would prefer to have everything sorted sooner rather than later regarding this, and I was wondering if (a) this is a situation that anyone on here has encountered previously, and (b) if you have any guidance you think I should follow to make sure I don’t miss out.

Thank you for reviewing this post, and I hope I’ve made myself clear. I look  forward to thoughts as to what I should/should not do next. 

Why do you think 35 years is of the slightest relevance to you 🤔

Have you even read the full detail of your State Pension forecast?

Thanks for responding, Dazed and C0nfused. 
I thought the 35-years issue was relevant, as Martin L repeatedly referenced it in his TV programmes in March, but now it seems it is a red herring for people at my point in the pension eligibility cycle.
And yes, I had read my Full Pension Forecast, which stated that I was eligible for the full pension, but my NI Record indicated a short fall in years (which I now accept is the red herring). But matters were further confused for me by the Future Pensions operative who told me I had Juvenile Contributions from my teens, which couldn't have happened as I was not living in the UK (and as an Irish resident, would not have been eligible for these anyway). He couldn't explain that to me, but did reassure me that I was still on track for the full pension when I come due. I posted my query just to see if anyone on here thought I might need to do anything further to ensure I received the full pension, as I didn't want to miss out due to an error in registering juvenile contributions. But as my forecast DOES state I will receive the full amount, I'll accept that now, given the years' issue isn't relevant to me. Thanks for your contribution.

Firstly I should explain that I have a bit of a bee in my bonnet about this issue.

I wonder if you could explain why you believe Martin Lewis led you to believe that 35 was the magic number. He continually talks about 35 "ish" which to me and I suspect most people means maybe 34 or 36 or thereabouts. The reality is that 35 years only becomes relevant in about 40 or 50 years time. 

Thanks for responding. I had 35 years in my head, because of ML's referencing the "35-ish" number previously ... I leant into 35, rather than 34 or 36, as it made sense to go for the median figure.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

CCxCP01 said:

german_keeper said:

CCxCP01 said:

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

CCxCP01 said:

I’m an Irish national (Rep. of Ireland), and have lived in the UK since 1987, when I came here to study, before starting working here (and contributing Full Years to NI in 1989-1990 and every year subsequently until 2020-2021).

When I was lucky enough to be able to retire, just before my 61st birthday in 2022, I checked my NI Contributions and my prospective State Pension on the .GOV website. The website at that time told me that I would be eligible for the Full State Pension when I become eligible to receive this, in 2028.

Earlier this year, Martin promoted checking to see if any additional contributions might be needed for my State Pension. I followed his lead, and discovered that, at that point, apparently I was 3 years short on NI Contributions, and would need to pay approximately £2400 to buy back the years from 2021 to 2023. So I registered for a callback to arrange further contributions.

I received the initial callback this morning (July 30th, 2025), and in the discussion, I was told that I DO have the full 35-years’ worth of NI Contributions, and I AM eligible for the Full State Pension when it becomes due. However, I pointed out that according to my NI Record page on their site, I only have 32 years contributions, according to the NI Record I printed off in March 2025 (1989-1990 to 2020-2021 = 32 years). The Pension Team caller told me he could see that I had Juvenile Contributions for some years (from 1977 - 1979, I think). I explained that, as I was not living in the UK at that stage, I couldn’t have made these contributions. He was insistent that I WAS fully-covered for NI contributions and that I DID NOT need to make any top-up payments. I believe that I DO need to make payments to cover 2021-2022, 2022-2023, and 2023-2024, as detailed in the NI Record, as I couldn't have made the Juvenile contributions he reported, but he insisted that the Computer said “NO”, not needed (in fact it was saying “YES”, fully-covered!), so I had no need to worry. He then said he will send me a letter to confirm this finding, for my records, which I can refer to, should my State Pension not be the full amount when I finally do receive my State Pension.

However, I would prefer to have everything sorted sooner rather than later regarding this, and I was wondering if (a) this is a situation that anyone on here has encountered previously, and (b) if you have any guidance you think I should follow to make sure I don’t miss out.

Thank you for reviewing this post, and I hope I’ve made myself clear. I look  forward to thoughts as to what I should/should not do next. 

Why do you think 35 years is of the slightest relevance to you 🤔

Have you even read the full detail of your State Pension forecast?

Thanks for responding, Dazed and C0nfused. 
I thought the 35-years issue was relevant, as Martin L repeatedly referenced it in his TV programmes in March, but now it seems it is a red herring for people at my point in the pension eligibility cycle.
And yes, I had read my Full Pension Forecast, which stated that I was eligible for the full pension, but my NI Record indicated a short fall in years (which I now accept is the red herring). But matters were further confused for me by the Future Pensions operative who told me I had Juvenile Contributions from my teens, which couldn't have happened as I was not living in the UK (and as an Irish resident, would not have been eligible for these anyway). He couldn't explain that to me, but did reassure me that I was still on track for the full pension when I come due. I posted my query just to see if anyone on here thought I might need to do anything further to ensure I received the full pension, as I didn't want to miss out due to an error in registering juvenile contributions. But as my forecast DOES state I will receive the full amount, I'll accept that now, given the years' issue isn't relevant to me. Thanks for your contribution.

Firstly I should explain that I have a bit of a bee in my bonnet about this issue.

I wonder if you could explain why you believe Martin Lewis led you to believe that 35 was the magic number. He continually talks about 35 "ish" which to me and I suspect most people means maybe 34 or 36 or thereabouts. The reality is that 35 years only becomes relevant in about 40 or 50 years time. 

Thanks for responding. I had 35 years in my head, because of ML's referencing the "35-ish" number previously ... I leant into 35, rather than 34 or 36, as it made sense to go for the median figure.

Or just 28 for some people.  Or 50+. 

german_keeper

Sometimes, particularly with financial matters, it is quite difficult to sum things up in a couple of sentences. What I find frustrating is that this isn't the case here. Something along the lines of "listen very carefully: if you weren't born this century or made NI contributions before 2016 then 35 years is of no relevance whatsoever. Check your state pension forecast for your exact position; if it happens to be 35 years that is entirely coincidental". 

1957DfurdPensionist

I for one don't blame ML for HMG's awful record of miscommunication on the workings of the "new State Pension".  Google this exact phrase and you will even find it in a current GOV.UK online publication: "If you were contracted out, you will usually need more than 35 qualifying years to get the full rate of new State Pension".  It is in one of the 'full guides'.

And this snippet elsewhere on GOV.UK: "The 2013 White Paper explained that, as a result of this comparison, individuals would fall into four distinct groups:

• Individuals with a foundation amount which is equal to the full level of the single-tier pension. These are likely to be people who have the necessary 35 qualifying years, little additional State Pension and have not been contracted out. - bla bla flippin bla ..."

GOV.UK "guidance" and info is still full of carelessly strewn comments mentioning 35 years as if it is central to the case for most people who are bothering to read it currently i.e. those already retired or soon to retire..

Yet there are a small group who 'contribute' regularly to this forum who just lately have been borderline disparaging to anyone who has made the mistake of thinking 35 years means something to their imminent nSP entitlement!


Having said that, and by dint of the formula chosen by the original drafters of the VC muddle to work out what difference a year makes, 35 years is actually not quite totally irrelevant to the transitional (old scheme contributors retiring on new scheme) group of current late baby boomer claimants.  For when they wish to work out what extra nSP an extra year's VC generally is expected to yield - it is calculated as max nSP/35 per year of VC i.e. an extra £6.58pw at the current max nSP rate of £230.25pw.

Why those of us (who still can't quite get to a full nSP) with way over 35 years, and whose so called new scheme "starting amount" is based on the old scheme rules, couldn't also buy back missing pre-2016 years, for example when I was at uni in London, and the OP was 16,17 and 18 not even in the UK, is another story.

If I'd thought of it earlier, I'd have long ago proposed an additional formula for extended retrospective buy back of each missing pre-2016 year and let that achieve further weekly nSP improvement at the current rate of old max basic State Pension (bSP)/30 i.e. £176.45/30 = £5.88pw.  That'd plug my last two or three ancient historic gaps nicely!  Better still they could wave those years through automatically for free instead of troubling over whether I was working hard enough at my studies to be worth it. But no, for us in UK who followed the higher education path, those years are indeed ancient history and lost forever to us as UK landlubbers - that's most of us who never even got on a plane or scarcely a boat until after uni !  One year I spent too much time studying and not quite enough earning during my student holiday periods for example, so that part year never got filled and didn't count for nowt.

So another pipe dream, like so many others too late now, which the drafters seem to have skipped in their rush to snatch back earnings related state pensions by now effectively raiding contracted out pensions (whether now in payment, or crashed as investments, or wound up prior to 2004, or cashed-out in the 2015 Lambourghini giveaway) using that sneaky nefarious deduction device termed COPE, or RDA or whatever they call it this week..
 
I am glad I went back to work, coincidentally at age 61 in another EU country, and thus (only after proving I was there, mind!) I did at least get the chance to independently qualify for a partial second nation state pension to supplement the UK one.  I expect the OP may have qualified for some such also 'back home'