Topping up national insurance, pension

[stevewool]

Not to sure if it’s the right place for this , if not please move , also this is mainly for the British expats too.

Have any members who has not reached there retirement age and are short of paying in there national insurance payments each year have or are topping up to try to get a better pension when you do finely get to retirement age .

Emma has a couple of years where she did not pay enough in and she can top these years up and so by doing that she would have a few more years if she lives that long to receive part of the pension but then again by that time the state pension could no longer exist, so again just wondering if anyone is topping theres up 

[Jack Peterson]

17 minutes ago, stevewool said:

Have any members who has not reached there retirement age and are short of paying in there national insurance payments each year have or are topping up to try to get a better pension when you do finely get to retirement age .

 Steve, this can be a grey area BUT this may help************************

Can I top up my NI?

 

 

You can usually pay voluntary contributions for the past 6 years. The deadline is 5 April each year. For example, you have until 5 April 2030 to make up for gaps for the tax year 2023 to 2024.***** People I know decided Not to top up as the benefits of doing so were not that Good. 

 

 Also read this*****************https://www.gov.uk/voluntary-national-insurance-contributions ***************

Edited May 1 by Jack Peterson
added a little

[stevewool]

6 minutes ago, Jack Peterson said:

 Steve, this can be a grey area BUT this may help************************

Can I top up my NI?

 

 

You can usually pay voluntary contributions for the past 6 years. The deadline is 5 April each year. For example, you have until 5 April 2030 to make up for gaps for the tax year 2023 to 2024.***** People I know decided Not to top up as the benefits of doing so were not that Good. 

Thanks Jack 

If we was to stay here in England I think it would be wise to top up her missing years but as we are not , plus as Emma says jokingly I’ll have your private pension when you have gone anyway , funny thing is she’s never smiling or laughing when she says that 

[Jack Peterson]

1 minute ago, stevewool said:

If we was to stay here in England I think it would be wise to top up her missing years but as we are not

 Steve, Remember you don't have to in the UK to claim the pension. I was here when I claimed mine 

[hk blues]

I have been paying voluntary NI for many years to ensure I get the max. pension when I retire.  It's definitely been worth it  for me as it costs about £150 a year and increases my pension by more than that. I have 2 more years to pay and then I will have contributed enough and can stop.

Slightly aside - the common belief is you need 35 years of NI to qualify for a full pension and this is true for the younger generation but due to the effects of contracting out etc it may not be true for us older guys. I, for example, will need 38 years. 

 

Edited May 2 by hk blues

[stevewool]

5 hours ago, hk blues said:

I have been paying voluntary NI for many years to ensure I get the max. pension when I retire.  It's definitely been worth it  for me as it costs about £150 a year and increases my pension by more than that. I have 2 more years to pay and then I will have contributed enough and can stop.

Slightly aside - the common belief is you need 35 years of NI to qualify for a full pension and this is true for the younger generation but due to the effects of contracting out etc it may not be true for us older guys. I, for example, will need 38 years. 

 

That’s a great deal to carry on , Ems has a few years where she can top up what she has not paid enough into and that’s 5 times more then what you are paying and that would only give her 12 full years , so again I’m not sure if it’s worth paying the extra 

[Jack Peterson]

3 minutes ago, stevewool said:

so again I’m not sure if it’s worth paying the extra 

 Maybe you should consult your Financial adviser Steve

[stevewool]

2 minutes ago, Jack Peterson said:

 Maybe you should consult your Financial adviser the last visit he told me I have to much in savings and I could easy loose ££££££££ and it would not effect me , best bet is to put it into long term investments, then he could get his share I was thinking , neither to say I never took his advice 

[stevewool]

Just now, stevewool said:

5 minutes ago, Jack Peterson said:

 Maybe you should consult your Financial adviser the last visit he told me I have to much in savings and I could easy loose ££££££££ and it would not effect me , best bet is to put it into long term investments, then he could get his share I was thinking , neither to say I never took his advice 

Not to sure what happened there , but you get my drift 

[hk blues]

56 minutes ago, stevewool said:

That’s a great deal to carry on , Ems has a few years where she can top up what she has not paid enough into and that’s 5 times more then what you are paying and that would only give her 12 full years , so again I’m not sure if it’s worth paying the extra 

There are 2 rates for voluntary payment - one for self-employed/employed and the other for unemployed.  The unemployed rate is much higher, as you say around 5 times what I pay because I'm self-employed.  The amount due refers to the employment status for the years in question, not current employment status. 

I'm no financial advisor but based on the full pension rate of £220 p.w. if you paid the £750 p.a. I think it'd be worthwhile. Now, that assumes you live to claim the pension, of course.  And that your partner won't make the full 35 years through working in the UK.

"Just one qualifying year of NI at the standard rate of £824.20 adds £5.29 a week, or £275.08 a year, to your pre-tax state pension. It’s therefore worth it as long as you live at least three years after getting your pension".

Don't take my word for it though, talk to others but I believe they will advise you to make up as much as you can.  

Edited May 2 by hk blues