Paying national insurance in years when earning under the tax allowance

I can’t answer your question, sorry, but have you checked your entitlement to state pension? Do you need that additional year to qualify? Possibly not, as you have another ten years to work. If you pay up, how much will it enhance your pension? Is it worth it?

I don’t know but I have read that people have been told they haven’t paid enough and the advice was wrong. Can you ring them or write and ask again just to confirm this? Also, are you in a union or some sort of professional organisation that you can go to with this as sometimes they will look in to this this of thing for you? Last year I spoke to someone at nhs pensions and they told me somethings I knew to be wrong so I contacted my mp about it, my mp has a team of people working for him who have different types of expertise and a guy who works for my mp sorted it out for me and I got the pension ( someone at nhs pensions had told me they had no record of it, it was a pension I got as a result of a divorce order). It’s just a thought. I know that may depend on how good your mp is but you haven’t lost anything by asking him or her for help.

I think you need to read the OP again suninthewest. This is not something GagaJo has to trouble her MP with.

Yes, I can. When you pay Class 3 voluntary contributions you pay at the rate for the current year irrespective of which year you are buying back.

2022/23 is £15.85 per week. 2021/22 was £15.30. For 2023/24 it will be £17.45.

Someone making up a shortfall for any year in 2021/22 would have paid £795.60 per year but leaving it until 2022/23 costs £824.20 a year. For 2023/24 it will be £907.40.

Thank you, NorthFace.

Oof! I am paying for the years I was opted out and used to pay quarterly when they billed me. The reminders stopped in lockdown and I paid annually, but decided to wait until my pension is due before paying (in case I die before I get it). I hadn’t realised that there was such a difference in price. Maybe I should pay this year before April 5?

The people on the phone line are very helpful if you can get through though. It’s worth speaking to them if you can.

A bit of extra info from MoneyHelper as what I said before is not quite right. It depends on how recent the missing years are:

Where you’re paying contributions for previous tax years, you’ll pay the current amount for those tax years. If you’re paying Class 2 contributions for the previous tax year or Class 3 contributions for the previous two tax years though, you'll pay the original amount for those tax years.

Whether you pay Class 2 or 3 will depend on your employment status and whether you ever lived and worked abroad.

www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/pensions-and-retirement/state-pension/voluntary-national-insurance-contributions-and-the-state-pension

My reading of that is that you will pay £795.60 for 2021/22 if you pay it in 2023/24 but after that would have to pay at the current rate for the year in which you make up the shortfall.

Surely having worked 30 years and with ten still to work you will be entitled to a full pension anyway

Not if there has been opting out.

Contact them and you’ll pay a reduced rate for working overseas ….. I’ve just paid 5/6 years but call them before as you may find it’s not worth it I found them so helpful

Martin Lewis has been talking a lot about NI top ups. He did a show a couple of weeks ago all about pensions which was very interesting. Definitely look it up on his website Money Saving Expert and then ring the Government helpline number which is available online.

Thanks everyone. I'd forgotten about this thread, despite starting it!

Ooooh, I might see if I can pay a reduced rate for overseas working. I DID have some UK income in that year though, so not sure.