I thought there was a deadline of April a couple of years back for being able to pay for missing years? Or has that been postponed? And wasn't there also some limit to how many years could be paid up?
I started paying the Voluntary Contributions maybe 7/8 years ago and then paid up a further tranche of missing years just before that deadline (2023?).
I'm hazy on the details re the missing years process but recall phoning them and discussing on the phone how many years / how much to pay etc, which payment I made from my UK bank account.
I recall there being something that needed to be done to ensure that the lump sum went to cover missing years, to avoid it going on account to cover future NIC payments (even though those are paid from my account by direct debit). I have a feeling that 'something that needed to be done' was to call them after the payment had been made to check that it was properly allocated. I appreciate this isn't very helpful advice and of course things may have all changed as I don't remember there being any online forms involved.
If it's still possible to pay for missing years then, for many people, I think it's a great deal, especially for those who don't have a large private pension pot but instead will be reliant, in their dotage, on various different income streams. I think I paid around £2,000 to pay up a further 10 years: that lifted current forecast to something over £10,000 a year if I keep paying the contributions for a few more years, or around £8,000 if I were to stop now. Since the contributions are so low and cost about the same as three pints a month (less if London pints!) it's a great deal.