Have you topped up a UK pension to cover gaps?

[MattA]

Thanks for the explanation. I've put in a call back request to give me some extra time.

Probably worth submitting CF83 as well. You will not get a response before the deadline but my understanding is that as long as HMRC receive it before then you will be able to back pay to 2006. If you can get approved at class 2 it's a bit of a no brainer to pay as many years as you can (up to the full 35).

 

[kelvedon]

As an aside, the letter was dated 8 February and received today (so 4.5 weeks even stamped 'Prioritaire') showing the slow postal service. Just hope that you don't ever get a 30-day payment demand as it'll be expired by the time the letter is received.

Yes, my letters take a month to arrive. If you look at the post marks you’ll see they use the Netherlands postal service. Presumably cheaper than the Royal Mail and perhaps a legacy of the pre brexit competition rules.

 

[VPS]

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ Seems to have been pushing out a lot of info on pension entitlements recently

 

[VPS]

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/tips/2025/03/04/

 

[Rebus]

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ Seems to have been pushing out a lot of info on pension entitlements recently

If it hadn't been for them raising awareness of the ability to buy back NI years I would not have known about it. Same for at least 5 others that I know of in Australia.

 

[simong]

(I had a rough idea of months but had I realised about the weeks element I'd have guestimated differently.)

You and me both, LOL! Thanks to everyone for all the advice here, just sent over my Wise transfer for 18 years worth! I guess I will at least log a call with them next week to confirm on receipt of funds as it looks like its a long time before it shows up.

 

[Jleno]

I sent by snail mail the Form CF83 at the end of December and still haven't received a response. So good luck to anyone trying to start that process now.

I just called HMRC (30 min wait time) and they confirmed that my CF83 was received in Jan 2025 but that the estimated processing date is 12 Jan 2026! They say the likelihood is that I won't hear from them until next year but it will not affect my ability to pay catch up contributions (despite the 5 Apr deadline).

 

[Rebus]

Data point: I paid my outstanding National Insurance years in early January 2025. I checked my account a few days ago and the payments have been allocated. Based on what I'd read on the HMRC Customer Forums I had not expected this to have happened until late this year.

I need to pay for 3 more years to qualify for a full UK state pension.

 

[Duffa]

Sorry for the delay in replying. Here's my updated story
1. I have called multiple UK numbers and spoken to numerous Geordies, all of whom were outrageously kind and happy to assist.
2. However, none of them had a clue when asked very SPECIFIC questions like "How much will my pension now be?"
3. I filled in the online CF83 form about 2 months ago
4. Received a postal reply to that CF83 offering me the opportunity to top up 20 years but saying "You must pay within 31 days" with only 5 days left to pay up. It had taken 23 days for the letter to arrive!
5. Called again - a kind agent added a note to my file stating that I might pay late
6. I managed to pay the TWENTY catch-up Class 2 years on time, negating #5 above
7. I used my still active UK bank account to pay the £3,000ish top-up (Class 2 because I am self-employed) to HMRC
8. The 18 digit reference which I used was AZ123456XICDUFFA - only UK people receive 18 numbers - but it was incredibly stressful not knowing if I had sent the money to the right/wrong place.

9. I don't much like to gamble, yet here I am BETTING on my own life !!! I have already paid the money to HM and if I die next Tuesday then Chuck/Keir owe me zilch. (UK pensions terminate when one dies and your partner or kids do NOT inherit)
BUT....... If I live for just three more years, I will break even. And if I live until 82 (average life expectancy) then I am quids in!! Approx $250,000!!That's a 4500% ROI
Hesta is giving Mrs D about 7.5%

 

[Duffa]

I just called HMRC (30 min wait time) and they confirmed that my CF83 was received in Jan 2025 but that the estimated processing date is 12 Jan 2026! They say the likelihood is that I won't hear from them until next year but it will not affect my ability to pay catch up contributions (despite the 5 Apr deadline).

That's weird. Mine took 6 weeks.

 

[SydneySwan]

9. I don't much like to gamble, yet here I am BETTING on my own life !!! I have already paid the money to HM and if I die next Tuesday then Chuck/Keir owe me zilch. (UK pensions terminate when one dies and your partner or kids do NOT inherit)
BUT....... If I live for just three more years, I will break even. And if I live until 82 (average life expectancy) then I am quids in!! Approx $250,000!!That's a 4500% ROI
Hesta is giving Mrs D about 7.5%

I am puzzled by your calculations. I bought an additional 15 years which provides 44% of my UK state pension (my pension is 34/35 of a full pension). It took only 8 months of pension payments to break-even allocating 44% of those payments against the up-front cost of buying those 15 years. This ignores inflation, etc. but even if I had allowed for it that would probably only push the time out to about 10 months.

I think your break-even point is shorter than you think. Assuming 20/35ths (57%) of your pension coming from your top-up payments then your payback period is around 6 months. The current pension is around 11,900 pounds and you have only paid 3000 pounds.

 

[MattA]

I am puzzled by your calculations.

Presumably @Duffa is not yet eligible for the pension, so the quoted break even point is about reaching pension age while still ticking? (He's right to say it's effectively a bet on one's own life expectancy...)

You are absolutely correct that if you pay at the class 2 rates your break even point is around 7/8 months into the first year of the pension, no matter how many years you pay for. Each additional year you buy costs something like £170-180 as a one-off payment but returns an additional £342 per year (at the 25/26 rates), every year for the rest of your life.

 

[Duffa]

Presumably, Duffa is not yet eligible for the pension

CORRECT. I am still but a pup.

 

[MattA]

So. Having submitted CF83 online in late March, a letter from HMRC arrived today confirming I can pay at class 2 rates, and quoting the exact amounts for every missing year back to 2009. Great!

Except… the letter is dated “17 April 2025” and my deadline to pay for every one of those missing years is “within 31 days of the date of this letter”. Which was last Sunday.

I’ll just grab my time machine, shall I?

 

[Princess Fiona]

So. Having submitted CF83 online in late March, a letter from HMRC arrived today confirming I can pay at class 2 rates, and quoting the exact amounts for every missing year back to 2009. Great!

Except… the letter is dated “17 April 2025” and my deadline to pay for every one of those missing years is “within 31 days of the date of this letter”. Which was last Sunday.

I’ll just grab my time machine, shall I?

The same thing happened to me.
Letter turned up way more than 31 days past the payment date.
After trying and failing to get advice on the phone I just decided to pay the full amount owing and wait and see what happens.
I seriously doubt they will try and send the money back.

 

[MattA]

The same thing happened to me.
Letter turned up way more than 31 days past the payment date.
After trying and failing to get advice on the phone I just decided to pay the full amount owing and wait and see what happens.
I seriously doubt they will try and send the money back.

The best bit is the massive ad on the back of the envelope promoting their app. “Go paperless” it says. Maybe HMRC could take their own advice and communicate in a way that doesn’t take over a month to reach us out here…

As it happens, I don’t actually need to pay for all those years back to ‘09. I’m not eligible for the pension until at least 2045, and I already have 12 years, so I was planning to backpay just the last 3 years and then do the rest over the next 20 years. If I’m betting on my own life expectancy then it seems sensible to pay for that bet in annual installments rather than a lump sum today.

But even the most recent years are listed in the letter with a “31 days” due date (but a “final deadline” in the future that matches the date when they drop out of the usual 5 years backpayment timeframe).

Will try the phone line on Monday to see what they say.

For future annual payments do they send you something or do you just make a transfer each year around April?

 

[Rebus]

As it happens, I don’t actually need to pay for all those years back to ‘09. I’m not eligible for the pension until at least 2045, and I already have 12 years, so I was planning to backpay just the last 3 years and then do the rest over the next 20 years. If I’m betting on my own life

For future annual payments do they send you something or do you just make a transfer each year around April?

If you can afford to do so you should back pay as many previous years as you can. If your circumstances change and you stop working you would no longer be eligible to pay at the heavily discounted Class 2 rates. I have a similar pension date to you and have now got 29 qualifying years as I back paid for 10 years at the beginning of 2025.

HMRC will send a letter at the end of each UK tax year telling you how much to pay for the year just ended. I received my letter a few weeks ago. The amount for 2024-25 was approx £180.