Voluntary UK pension contribution

[beanhead]

Payment Schedule for Voluntary Class 3 NI Contributions

I applied to pay voluntary NICs a few months ago - thank you for all the brilliant information on the RJ Forum! I phoned to confirm my application had arrived and I am now waiting to hear from HMRC. I'm wondering how long I will have between receiving a letter from HMRC and having to pay 17 years of voluntary Class 3 NICs (2006-2007 tax year until now).
Does anyone know what the payment schedule for 17 years of Class 3 contributions is likely to be?

Did you receive a letter at all yet?
I received a letter with a list of the years I could back-pay and the amounts. It also included a date by which those payments needed to be made.
If my understanding is correct those payments need to be made by next March or April (2025), but of course if they are so backed up you may not even get the letter until then. In that case, not sure what they will do, to be honest.

[RetireJapan]

If my understanding is correct those payments need to be made by next March or April (2025), but of course if they are so backed up you may not even get the letter until then. In that case, not sure what they will do, to be honest.

I'm pretty sure you need to apply by the end of March, but payment can be made after that as long as the application was completed in time.

[allatsea]

I haven't received a letter yet. I just checked online and discovered I should get a reply around 1 May 2025. HMRC is currently processing requests received on 4 March 2024.

HMRC accepts the date it receives your CF83 as the date of contact. Therefore, provided your CF83 form arrives by the 5 April 2025 deadline, you will be given extra time to pay. Perhaps HMRC is being deliberately vague about the timing due to the huge backlog of applications.

I'll check online again in late March to see if the date I should expect a reply has changed.

[Deep Blue]

Interesting you have a very different expected date than I do. I applied online on 15th Sep 2024. Maybe you applied by post? I imagine postal applications take a lot longer as the online form forces you to enter all the information they need, so it will all be formatted and present for them to review easily whereas postal forms need more effort from them.

You can expect a reply by
18 December 2024
This date is an estimate and may change.

More information
We are currently processing requests received on 12 August 2024.

Please do not contact us until after the 18 December 2024.

[allatsea]

I applied by post in mid-August. After phoning HMRC, I was advised to send a print out of the online form and a long cover letter to explain my situation. Also, I have had more than five employers since I left the UK, so I needed to attach additional pages. Therefore, applying online was not an option.

[Deep Blue]

Ahh that’s a shame. Is that a limit on the online system, max five employers can be entered? I remember if was a bit of a faff to enter them all but I had fewer than five.

[beanhead]

Also, I have had more than five employers since I left the UK, so I needed to attach additional pages. Therefore, applying online was not an option.

This makes me wonder, what do they actually check? At least one of the employers I listed in Japan no longer exists. I gave them a list of employers and dates worked, but since these companies are here, can the UK government get detailed records? Of course, via NI payments, they would be able to get this info easily in the UK.

[allatsea]

Ahh that’s a shame. Is that a limit on the online system, max five employers can be entered? I remember if was a bit of a faff to enter them all but I had fewer than five.

Yes. After I entered my fifth employer, I was advised to attach a sheet for additional employments. It was a nightmare as I had to list 20 employers!

[allatsea]

This makes me wonder, what do they actually check? At least one of the employers I listed in Japan no longer exists.

I'm in a similar situation as a few of the employers I listed no longer exist. Other than tax records, I doubt there is anything to prove that I worked for these employers in the 1990s.

[Tkydon]

This makes me wonder, what do they actually check? At least one of the employers I listed in Japan no longer exists.

I'm in a similar situation as a few of the employers I listed no longer exist. Other than tax records, I doubt there is anything to prove that I worked for these employers in the 1990s.

I don't think you can't go as far back as far as the 1990s anyway. I think the longest you can go back is 20 years... or maybe to 1999... I may be wrong.

Class 3 Contributions were Lower than Class 2 Contributions for the Year 1999 and before.
Class 2 Contributions only became cheaper from the year 2000 onwards.

For years that you cannot provide Employment Information, or you were unemployed, you will default to Class 3 Contributions.
Only for years for which you can provide Employment Information, will you be granted permission to pay Class 2 Contributions.

If there are any years for which you default to Class 3 Contributions, you can choose not to pay for those years and only (first) pay Contributions for Class 2 years, and then only pay for Class 3 years if you need those Class 3 years for full entitlement - 35 years. If you can qualify for the full 35 years using only Class 2 years, past and future, then ignore the Class 3 years.