Have you topped up a UK pension to cover gaps?

[Brissy1]

Things are looking promising, mrsB received a text (after waiting 8 months) requesting she call uk. Phoned tonight and he confirmed a few details and advised that she has 5 years, is eligible for catch-up, and to complete CF83 form importantly to note on it that she had registered interest prior to deadline.
Don't know how 5 years was recorded, only worked for about 3 years in the 1980s.
After leaving UK she worked for some years before marrying a wonderful man so stopped working, so...

I gather that catch-up rates are class 2 for years when working, then class 3? And one can't catch-up all the years since leaving UK?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Things are looking promising, mrsB received a text (after waiting 8 months) requesting she call uk. Phoned tonight and he confirmed a few details and advised that she has 5 years, is eligible for catch-up, and to complete CF83 form importantly to note on it that she had registered interest prior to deadline.
Don't know how 5 years was recorded, only worked for about 3 years in the 1980s.
After leaving UK she worked for some years before marrying a wonderful man so stopped working, so...

I gather that catch-up rates are class 2 for years when working, then class 3? And one can't catch-up all the years since leaving UK?

You can catch up all the years since leaving the UK. Correct… class 2 while working and 3 when not.

They seem to count part years… which is likely how they got to 5 when you’d really been there 3. Mine was likewise 2 years higher than I had originally calculated.

 

[SydneySwan]

You can catch up all the years since leaving the UK. Correct… class 2 while working and 3 when not.

My bolding - it depends. Certainly not the case if you left in the 1980s as per @Brissy1 post.

 

[Brissy1]

You can catch up all the years since leaving the UK. Correct… class 2 while working and 3 when not.

They seem to count part years… which is likely how they got to 5 when you’d really been there 3. Mine was likewise 2 years higher than I had originally calculated.

Thanks. UK guy said that she has 5 years and can top-up 19 years, although she left UK 36 years ago. A distant thought is that you can only catch-up since some date after 2000, or am I imagining that? He also said that continuing contributions for another 2 years until she's entitled to the pension, giving her 26 instead of 24 years, would increase her weekly pension from £130pw to £160pw. That extra £1000pa for extra 2 years contribution doesn't seem right. Maybe those figures are fortnightly not pw.

Long way to go yet, still to submit CF83 so not counting my chickens...

 

[andye]

Thanks. UK guy said that she has 5 years and can top-up 19 years, although she left UK 36 years ago. A distant thought is that you can only catch-up since some date after 2000, or am I imagining that? He also said that continuing contributions for another 2 years until she's entitled to the pension, giving her 26 instead of 24 years, would increase her weekly pension from £130pw to £160pw. That extra £1000pa for extra 2 years contribution doesn't seem right. Maybe those figures are fortnightly not pw.

Long way to go yet, still to submit CF83 so not counting my chickens...

The ability to retrospectively top up more than five years was closed off last year. You can probably add current year to make 6.
As above, class 2s will cease next April (I'm not 100% sure if this applies to the retropective ones)

 

[Brissy1]

My bolding - it depends. Certainly not the case if you left in the 1980s as per @Brissy1 post.

Ah thanks that explains some of what UK guy said