Proof of Class 3 Validity - Working Abroad

Laddie3

Last March I sent in the form requesting to pay Voluntary NI. Today I received a reply which offered the options below but at the higher rate - approx 900 GBP a year.They are also asking for payment for much of the years within 31 days

I have worked outside the UK from 2002 until retirement in 2023 - I believe I should be able to pay the reduced rate of Class 2 - What information can I provide to pay this - it is going to be difficult to get anything from employers - has anybody else gone through this and how did you handle it?

I have 22 years qualification but do not think worth paying the higher rate but the lower rate would be worth it

Option 1 

Pay for a total of 12 years in the following way: 

• All 8 available years from 2006/2007 to 2015/2016, and
• Any 4 additional years from 2016/2017 to 2024/2025. 

Option 2 

Pay for any 11 years in total, as long as no more than 6 of those years are from 2006/2007 to 2015/2016.

pinnks

There are 2 conditions you must meet to pay at Class 2, rather than Class 3.

First you must have been ordinarily an employed, or self-employed, earner until immediately before you left the UK. The emphasis is on "ordinarily" which mean usually, or most of the time.

If you meet that condition, then for any week during which you were employed, or self-employed, abroad you can pay Class 2. For other weeks it's still Class 3.

If you feel you meet both conditions and the decision is incorrect you will need to appeal the decision by replying to the letter and providing any further evidence that was not attached to your initial application.

Laddie3

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81896292#Comment_81896292

Thank you for the quick response. I was in a salaried PAYE job in the UK until made redundant in June 2002 I think it was - during the World Cup. I took a holiday abroad then left the UK to work overseas in September of 2002. Until that point I worked from 16 in the UK in 1976 with periods at university and one year abroad in 1999.

It is how to prove all this with documentation - mainly working in Singapore from September 2006 until January 2017 for the dame company then in Thailand from September 2019 till February 2023

pinnks

It may be that those 3 or 4 months are viewed as too long to meet the first condition. I have seen people with gaps of around that length being OK but you also had a year abroad a few years prior to that. Ultimately it's HMRC's call.

If you can satisfy that condition then you would look at periods of employment or self-employment abroad. It sounds as though you have 3 or 4 years not employed and then a long period of employment, another gap and then another employment. At best you would get the periods of employment at Class 2 and the rest at Class 3.

Laddie3

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81896562#Comment_81896562

So a short period of not working in 2002 would disqualify me ie max June to September? I honestly cannot remember if I signed on in the August for a month. I should hav sorted this out yeaqrs go when I was working in singapore for a British company - my own fault. It just took so long to get any response from them. Same as this time. Last March till now to get a reply.

eastcorkram

Obviously, class 2 is a much better deal, but I also regard class 3 as an absolute bargain.

DRS1

This may be a stupid question but did you just ask to be able to pay voluntary contributions and they simply assumed you meant Class 3 NICs? Or did you fill in the CF83 form with the dates of your overseas employments and so on so they could decide if you qualified for Class 2 NICs and they wrote back to say you didn't qualify for Class 2 but you could pay Class 3 instead?

Laddie3

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81898081#Comment_81898081

I listed clearly all of my overseas employment on the CF83 with company names, dates and locations - Singapore and Bangkok from 2006 until 2023. Reading the email it seems to say to me (Here are the Class 3 costs. If you want to pay Class 2 you need to prove it".

DRS1

OK So maybe this is all part of the tightening up on paying voluntary contributions for periods spent abroad. But prove what exactly? That you qualify? Surely that is what the form is for? That you actually spent the periods you say you did doing the work you say you did?

I am not sure what evidence of that they would need but if employment contracts, termination agreements or payslips are not available do you maybe have access to old tax returns or social security information which might show periods of employment/self employment? When you were filling in the form presumably you checked some documents to get the dates etc. Maybe they would do the job?

sheramber

Sounds like they want proof oof your working abroad.

Any employer details could be written on a form.

HMRC will not search for proof. You have to provide that.