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Re: Backpaying UK pension (Class 3)

Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2018 1:57 pm
by adamu
RetireJapan wrote: Thu Sep 27, 2018 1:39 pmI will pay something like 15,000 pounds for an 8,000 pound a year pension for the rest of my life).
Nice way to put it. To put it another way, if you use the 4% withdrawal rate as a guideline, you'd need £200k invested in stocks to generate £8000/year, so getting that for £15k is a no-brainer.

Re: Backpaying UK pension (Class 3)

Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2018 4:20 am
by KyushuWoozy
I finally completed the form and sent off my application to back pay Class 2 (if I'm not eligible for that then class 3 instead). More accurately, I sent off the form to start paying Class 2 and ticked the box that said I'm interested to make back payments too.

I called and checked it had arrived and I was politely told that it takes 65 working days to process. Well, I had ignored this issue for a decade or two so what's 65 working days between friends?

As has been said multiple times here, for Brits this is a no-brainer. It's really worth getting your head down onto this if you haven't already. It took me hours and hours of work to get everything done (research, gathering my data, phoning hrmc, checking online, filling in the form) but I'm really expecting it will be worth it. If everything goes through okay it might end up being the best hourly rate I have ever earned.

Re: Backpaying UK pension (Class 3)

Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2018 6:27 am
by RetireJapan
KyushuWoozy wrote: Tue Nov 20, 2018 4:20 am I finally completed the form and sent off my application to back pay Class 2 (if I'm not eligible for that then class 3 instead). More accurately, I sent off the form to start paying Class 2 and ticked the box that said I'm interested to make back payments too.

I called and checked it had arrived and I was politely told that it takes 65 working days to process. Well, I had ignored this issue for a decade or two so what's 65 working days between friends?

As has been said multiple times here, for Brits this is a no-brainer. It's really worth getting your head down onto this if you haven't already. It took me hours and hours of work to get everything done (research, gathering my data, phoning hrmc, checking online, filling in the form) but I'm really expecting it will be worth it. If everything goes through okay it might end up being the best hourly rate I have ever earned.
Absolutely. It's a deal, it's a steal, it's the sale of the century ;)

Get in while you still can.

Re: Backpaying UK pension (Class 3)

Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2018 1:17 am
by Bushiman
Well, I got my reply back from HMRC... And it is most bizarre...

Image

For a start, I was born, raised, studied in the UK for 21 consecutive years...
And when I check my NICs online I get this:

Image

I was born in the 1980s so it looks like I should meet both conditions fully!?

I guess I'll be giving HMRC a call ASAP to ask what the fffffffudge is going on....

Re: Backpaying UK pension (Class 3)

Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2018 4:01 am
by adamu
Bushiman wrote: Sat Dec 22, 2018 1:17 am what the fffffffudge is going on....
They are experts in opaque letters.

To try to translate a bit, to fulfil the 2nd requirement, it looks like only the fourth arrow applies to you, since it was imposable to pay anything before 1975.

I'm not sure what a "NIC Qualifying Earnings Factor" is, but I think it means you need to have three years on your statement that do not say "Year is not full". On the right of that statement it says "4 years of full contributions", so it looks like you should be good? :?:

Re: Backpaying UK pension (Class 3)

Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2018 4:18 am
by Bushiman
adamu wrote: Sat Dec 22, 2018 4:01 am
Bushiman wrote: Sat Dec 22, 2018 1:17 am what the fffffffudge is going on....
On the right of that statement it says "4 years of full contributions", so it looks like you should be good? :?:
Exactly... I can't understand what's going on as I should meet all the criteria...

Re: Backpaying UK pension (Class 3)

Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2018 11:28 pm
by RetireJapan
My experience is that they will take several months to send you a letter that doesn't apply to you/make sense, in the hope that you will just give up and stop contacting them.

Persevere! Good luck.

Re: Backpaying UK pension (Class 3)

Posted: Sun Dec 23, 2018 2:19 am
by Bushiman
RetireJapan wrote: Sat Dec 22, 2018 11:28 pm My experience is that they will take several months to send you a letter that doesn't apply to you/make sense, in the hope that you will just give up and stop contacting them.

Persevere! Good luck.
Thanks! I'm certainly not giving up that's for sure... This letter arrived in less than 2 months and doesn't make any sense...
I'm guessing the HMRC will be closed for Christmas and the New Year, but I'll be phoning up first chance I get....

Re: Backpaying UK pension (Class 3)

Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2019 3:27 am
by goodandbadjapan
Arrived back in Japan to a letter from HMRC and it looks like I have been accepted to pay Class 2! I would never have even thought about finding out about this if it wasn't for this site - so thanks!

Re: Backpaying UK pension (Class 3)

Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2019 5:01 am
by RetireJapan
goodandbadjapan wrote: Thu Jan 03, 2019 3:27 am Arrived back in Japan to a letter from HMRC and it looks like I have been accepted to pay Class 2! I would never have even thought about finding out about this if it wasn't for this site - so thanks!
Wow, fantastic news! Congratulations on winning the lottery there ;)