Have you topped up a UK pension to cover gaps?

[Rebus]

IMO it’s safe at the imminent Budget…but next year ?
Like the NHS , it’s become a sacred cow that only a brave government would kill.

I hope you're right. At the rate it's going the UK age pension will be worth more than my super will be when I hit retirement age!

 

[GiggsAbroad]

Can anyone confirm if, after you've made the payment to back-pay gap years, and you've called the NI Helpline to confirm which years to allocate said payment to, and then as with Princess Fiona and FlyingFiona above, their NI record is then updated, does HMRC send any letter in the post (as is their standard method of comms) with a receipt or letter to actually confirm in writing that the process is completed?

 

[Rebus]

Can anyone confirm if, after you've made the payment to back-pay gap years, and you've called the NI Helpline to confirm which years to allocate said payment to, and then as with Princess Fiona and FlyingFiona above, their NI record is then updated, does HMRC send any letter in the post (as is their standard method of comms) with a receipt or letter to actually confirm in writing that the process is completed?

After I made my back-payment earlier this year I sent a letter to HMRC confirming the amount paid and the years to which it was to be allocated. I also asked them to confirm this by return letter.

My NI record was updated around 10 weeks after transferring funds. Several months later I received a letter from HMRC confirming that they had received payment and allocated it as per my instructions.

In short, in my experience if you send them a letter they will respond in kind.

 

[fkcn]

Can anyone confirm if, after you've made the payment to back-pay gap years, and you've called the NI Helpline to confirm which years to allocate said payment to, and then as with Princess Fiona and FlyingFiona above, their NI record is then updated, does HMRC send any letter in the post (as is their standard method of comms) with a receipt or letter to actually confirm in writing that the process is completed?

Having done this myself, though not for afew yrs, I’m pretty sure you can login, if registered, and the info about yrs paid, and yrs still required, is visible. If not, you can request a statement of same.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Having done this myself, though not for afew yrs, I’m pretty sure you can login, if registered, and the info about yrs paid, and yrs still required, is visible. If not, you can request a statement of same.

Yes, that’s all still there. Under the ‘view state pension’ box you can get an estimate of your pension at retirement age, and you can view gaps in your NI record.

All the years paid, unpaid, or part-paid are shown.

 

[GiggsAbroad]

Having done this myself, though not for afew yrs, I’m pretty sure you can login, if registered, and the info about yrs paid, and yrs still required, is visible. If not, you can request a statement of same.

Thanks, yes I've registered online and have the HMRC app which shows me everything, but I guess I was thinking that all I have in terms of making the payment was the transaction from my Aust bank and, when it updates, the online details in HMRC. This should be sufficient - I guess I'll just take plenty of screen shots - but I was just wondering if they also sent out a statement or similar that shows the full state of my NI acct - much like a bank account statement, incl showing when/date I made a payment, how it was allocated, etc. Given that I've made payments across different years incl at different rates (Class 2 vs some Class 3), I know what I've done as I've kept a spreadsheet, but it's always good to have that confirmed from the HMRC end as well, esp since I'm still quite a few years away from reaching pension age.

 

[aplmac]

Can anyone confirm if, after you've made the payment to back-pay gap years, and you've called the NI Helpline to confirm which years to allocate said payment to, and then as with Princess Fiona and FlyingFiona above, their NI record is then updated, does HMRC send any letter in the post (as is their standard method of comms) with a receipt or letter to actually confirm in writing that the process is completed?

Yes in my experience. Back in 2017 when I made my first back-payment, they sent back a letter outlining the breakdown of the payment as applied over the missing eligible years.

 

[Growing Older]

Lots of great advice and anecdotes in this thread - thank you AFF community for bringing this topic to my attention (and all of my work colleagues too!)

My data points for reference:

• I worked in the UK for 6 years from 2005-2011 but somehow started out with 8 NI years (no questions being asked here)
• I rang the DWP hotline to register for a callback in March, about a month before the final deadline
• Callback came in June - they asked for my DOB and NI number - nothing more - then said someone will call me to take this further
• Nobody called and work colleagues were progressing faster by just filling out the CF83 form online
• I gave that a go in July, asking to be classified as Class 2 for all of my working years in AU after leaving the UK
• Received an initial assessment for the past 6 years only, with no acknowledgement of the DWP callback or the gap years from 2012-2019
• Paid that from a UK bank account, just to push me over 10 years of NICs and see a pension estimate in UK Govt Gateway
• Got a second assessment the following week for all back-years, including the last 6 that I had just paid - Class 2 granted on all of them!
• Paid that immediately, given the deadlines attached (even though I believe HMRC is lenient on this due to their use of snail mail)
• Took screenshots of all payments into that Barclays account (I was expecting that HMRC would be holding NI funds with the Bank of England instead)
• The next week, the initial payment was allocated to the past 6 years in my NI record with no intervention from me - and no notification of any kind
• That was a 2 week turn-around, which seems amazing relative to others' experiences
• Then I waited for 2 months for the back years to be allocated. Just as I was about to bite the bullet and call them to enquire about the process here (feigning ignorance), all of my back years were suddenly allocated too, pushing me well above 20 paid NI years and putting me firmly on track for a full UK state pension if I keep paying Class 2 each year until retirement

There are plenty of other stories out there but mine has been reasonably smooth.