Pensions vs Working Abroad

EdInvestor

It seems to be just a matter of what you tell them - if you say you are working, you pay class 2, if not working then class 3.They don't require you to prove your employment status. I paid class 3 for years as an employed expat and then switched over when I found out about the class 2 possibility: they were kind enough to give me a refund for earlier overpayments.

The class 2 NICs for expats rule came in around the year 2000 - before then IIRC all expats (incl self employed, but not 100% sure about this) had to pay class 3.

seven-day-weekend

Edinvestor, I think now you have to prove it. I know soeone else who said they were thinking of starting a business and were told that they had to send proof of their 'validation' from the Spanish Government to prove the business was actually in existence.

I just think my other friends who didn't run the B&B and are just as non-employed as I am, got off lightly!

EdInvestor

Perhaps things have changed - I can only say that when I switched to class 2 (around five years ago) I wasn't asked to supply any information: on the other hand I had been paying class 3 conts for years as a working expat.

At that time the option of paying class 2 was not I suspect very well known as it was new.Since then it has probably become more widely understood - and perhaps there has also been a rise in people "trying it on"? That could account for a bit of tightening up on eligibility.