Have you topped up a UK pension to cover gaps?

[romeobravo]

So my experience was this: I left the UK in 1998 and hadn’t given the UK pension a second thought until March this year when I was having a chat with an AI about my partner’s UK private pension and moving that to Australia. One thing led to another, and the AI advised that we might both be eligible for the UK state pension. I filled in my CF83 form in mid-March this year, and got a reply in late May (dated late April) saying I was eligible to back pay 20 years of class 2 contributions (£3.3k), which takes me to 26 years of NICs. I was given an 18-digit reference number which I used to make the payment a few days before the 31-day deadline (using a Wise UK account and the Faster Payment system).

And today I received a letter (with the same late-April date as the earlier letter) inviting me to pay the last 6 years at class 2 rates! (Which I’ve already paid, as part of the 2006-2026 payment.)

So I guess I’ll just wait and see what happens. I’m assuming it’ll all go ok, and that I can pay 9 years of class 3 NICs going forward to take me up to 35 years,

Given my experience, I don’t really understand what that 5 April 2025 deadline was all about.

Update: this week the rest of that payment I made was applied to years going back to 2006. Fantastic result. All turned out to be pretty straightforward.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Update: this week the rest of that payment I made was applied to years going back to 2006. Fantastic result. All turned out to be pretty straightforward.

Can you remind us when you applied?

I sent my money 12 months ago! I’ve called twice to follow up, they got the money, but haven’t done anything yet!

Looks like another call

 

[Brissy1]

Can you remind us when you applied?

I sent my money 12 months ago! I’ve called twice to follow up, they got the money, but haven’t done anything yet!

Looks like another call

You do really need to check.
We initially paid just a few hundred pounds as a trial (never having used wise payments), confirmed received (months later) then transferred the rest.

But... phoned to check months later and there'd applied the first few hundred pounds to the earliest year, then the balance to subsequent years. So had partial payment recorded for earliest year and partial payment for last year (and partial years don't count!).
To their credit they picked it up while we were on the phone and will correct.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

You do really need to check.
We initially paid just a few hundred pounds as a trial (never having used wise payments), confirmed received (months later) then transferred the rest.

But... phoned to check months later and there'd applied the first few hundred pounds to the earliest year, then the balance to subsequent years. So had partial payment recorded for earliest year and partial payment for last year (and partial years don't count!).
To their credit they picked it up while we were on the phone and will correct.

Yes i guess i’ll have to.

Although i’ve got a couple decades to sort it out

 

[romeobravo]

Can you remind us when you applied?

I sent my money 12 months ago! I’ve called twice to follow up, they got the money, but haven’t done anything yet!

Looks like another call

I kicked off this whole thing in March this year. I received a letter from them at end of May and made my payment promptly then.

 

[Growing Older]

Has anyone received this mythical letter that HMRC was going to write in July this year, telling us expats that the Class 2 gig is up and we will be pushed onto Class 3 for voluntary NI contributions going forward? Also letting us know that we will be grandfathered onto Class 3 and not have to meet the 10 year residency test going forward to keep making voluntary NICs?

I'm reading in other places that we need to:
(1) have already been approved for Class 2 before 6th April 2026 (tick)
(2) paid either the 2024/25 or 2025/26 Class 2 NIC amount by 5th April 2027 (not yet - awaiting their advice, with 18 digit reference number)
(3) then re-register for Class 3 going forward under grandfathered provisions (not yet)

Does anyone have a July-dated letter to this effect? With silly season approaching, I fear things may fall through multiple cracks - and it's been 3 months since July now.

I'm going to have to call them, aren't I?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Has anyone received this mythical letter that HMRC was going to write in July this year, telling us expats that the Class 2 gig is up and we will be pushed onto Class 3 for voluntary NI contributions going forward? Also letting us know that we will be grandfathered onto Class 3 and not have to meet the 10 year residency test going forward to keep making voluntary NICs?

I'm reading in other places that we need to:
(1) have already been approved for Class 2 before 6th April 2026 (tick)
(2) paid either the 2024/25 or 2025/26 Class 2 NIC amount by 5th April 2027 (not yet - awaiting their advice, with 18 digit reference number)
(3) then re-register for Class 3 going forward under grandfathered provisions (not yet)

Does anyone have a July-dated letter to this effect? With silly season approaching, I fear things may fall through multiple cracks - and it's been 3 months since July now.

I'm going to have to call them, aren't I?

Oh!

I might have got the letter!

But I had no idea there were grandfathering provisions or residency tests!

I’d better do some more research! I don’t know if I have a 2024/25 year to pay! Will have to investigate.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Has anyone received this mythical letter that HMRC was going to write in July this year, telling us expats that the Class 2 gig is up and we will be pushed onto Class 3 for voluntary NI contributions going forward? Also letting us know that we will be grandfathered onto Class 3 and not have to meet the 10 year residency test going forward to keep making voluntary NICs?

I'm reading in other places that we need to:
(1) have already been approved for Class 2 before 6th April 2026 (tick)
(2) paid either the 2024/25 or 2025/26 Class 2 NIC amount by 5th April 2027 (not yet - awaiting their advice, with 18 digit reference number)
(3) then re-register for Class 3 going forward under grandfathered provisions (not yet)

Does anyone have a July-dated letter to this effect? With silly season approaching, I fear things may fall through multiple cracks - and it's been 3 months since July now.

I'm going to have to call them, aren't I?

Yep
Shrek and I both received the letter

 

[Rebus]

Has anyone received this mythical letter that HMRC was going to write in July this year, telling us expats that the Class 2 gig is up and we will be pushed onto Class 3 for voluntary NI contributions going forward? Also letting us know that we will be grandfathered onto Class 3 and not have to meet the 10 year residency test going forward to keep making voluntary NICs?

I'm reading in other places that we need to:
(1) have already been approved for Class 2 before 6th April 2026 (tick)
(2) paid either the 2024/25 or 2025/26 Class 2 NIC amount by 5th April 2027 (not yet - awaiting their advice, with 18 digit reference number)
(3) then re-register for Class 3 going forward under grandfathered provisions (not yet)

Does anyone have a July-dated letter to this effect? With silly season approaching, I fear things may fall through multiple cracks - and it's been 3 months since July now.

I'm going to have to call them, aren't I?

Mrs Rebus and I both received the letter several months ago.

 

[Growing Older]

Hmmm... Mrs GO and I did not receive anything (and I've been waiting patiently!)

I'll just forge ahead, pretend that HMRC actually wrote to us, and re-register us as grandfathered Class 3 candidates using this form: Apply to pay voluntary Class 3 National Insurance contributions for periods abroad

Note: this is a different form to the standard CF83 form (that's for anyone applying freshly, not for those of us who have already been paying under a previous CF83 application). It still needs to be physically signed and snail-mailed to them...

For those following along, here's the 3 criteria that must be met to continue with Class 3 voluntary NICs from abroad on a grandfathered basis (i.e. using the old 3-year rule rather than the new 10-year residency rule); my emphasis in bold.

Check if you can apply​

From 6 April 2026, you cannot pay voluntary Class 2 National Insurance contributions for time spent abroad.

You may be able to pay voluntary Class 3 National Insurance contributions for periods abroad from the 2026 to 2027 tax year onwards.

You must meet all of the following conditions:

• you applied to pay voluntary Class 2 or Class 3 National Insurance contributions for the 2024 to 2025 or 2025 to 2026 tax year on or before 5 April 2026
• you pay or have paid the voluntary National Insurance contributions you applied for on or before 5 April 2027
• you must apply to pay Class 3 National Insurance contributions for the 2026 to 2027 tax year on or before 5 April 2027

These rules will no longer apply once you return to live or work in the UK.