chickenslegs

Ireland

For a limited time you can continue to pay AVCs to increase your pension, even after you start to receive your pension. I paid for my extra years in March at the rates shown in my post. If I had waited until April the NI rates had increased by about 50 GBP a year.

My mistake, it was 6 years - 4778.80 GBP. A bit of a shock as I had assumed I was fully paid up.

When I contacted the DWP about my AVCs they sent me an email showing which years I should pay - here is an excerpt - note the warning about pre 2016 payments. About paying more years of voluntary contributions Paying more years of voluntary contributions will increase what you will receive for each year paid. For pension purposes it is only beneficial to pay any of the post April 2016 tax years. The table below shows what you can pay. If you do not pay by the first date shown, the amount may be more when you do come to pay. We cannot accept payment if we get it after the final time limit shown. Tax Year Number and rate of contributions Amount Payment date without penalty Final time Limit 2016-2017 52 @ £15.40 £800.80 Within 8 weeks of the date of this letter 5 April 2023 2017-2018 52 @ £15.40 £800.80 Within 8 weeks of the date of this letter 5 April 2024 2018-2019 52 @ £15.40 £800.80 Within 8 weeks of the date of this letter 5 April 2025 2019-2020 52 @ £15.00 £780.00 Within 8 weeks of the date of this letter 5 April 2026 2020-2021 52 @ £15.30 £795.60 5 April 2023 5 April 2027 2021-2022 52 @ £15.40 £800.80 5 April 2024 5 April 2028 Payment date without penalty If you want to pay your contributions, at the amount shown, you must send your payment so we get it by the ‘pay without penalty’ date. If we get your payment after this date, the amount will increase.

That doesn't mean that you need to pay 16 years of AVCs. You need to find out how many years are needed to get to your maximum. I needed 40 years total.

I had 35 years of NI contributions, but I was "contracted out" for all those years. My Gateway account told me that my expected weekly pension would be 143GBP and that this could be increased to 170GBP if I paid 5 years of AVC's, which I did.

If I recall correctly, the Government Gateway tells you how many years AVC's you need to pay to reach your maximum. You then choose which years you want to pay. Choose carefully as some years will not increase your pension (see my post above). Note: You may not be able to reach the maximum pension, no matter how many AVC's you pay. I fall short by a few pounds a week.

You need some advice. I stopped paying NI in 2006. I was told that paying voluntary contributions for any years prior to 2016 would not increase my pension. So I paid 2016 to 2021, which increased my pension to just under the maximum.

If you go into the gov.uk website and search for form IPC SU 117 you may find info about how to pay. IPC SU 117 is the form you have to send to HMRC with your payment (or to confirm your payment if you used online banking). IPC117 - About your payment.pdf Before you pay anything you need to speak to Future Pensions, who will explain the procedure to you. Staff there are very pleasant and helpful. Also, if you were working abroad in any of the "missing" NI years, you may be able to pay Class 2 contributions - much cheaper than Class 3.

Go to https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension Click the GREEN sign in button. Click “Create sign in details” Enter your email address where asked. You will now be emailed a confirmation code. Use this code to confirm your email address. You will now be issued with a User ID for your government gateway account. Once you have a Gateway account you will be able to enter your NI number and see what information they have regarding your NI contributions.

I called Future Pensions on +44 191 218 3600 as close as possible to 9.00am UK time. No long delays at all. You can ask for a pension forecast. I thought I was fully paid up, but found that I needed to pay some voluntary contributions (something to do with contracting out and changes to the pension in 2016).

Oh dear!

Susan

I think this is a small typo. Phyathai is a group of hospitals with locations in Bangkok and Sriracha. https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&sxsrf=ALiCzsZhTgVvu21SjMVF4G_CRt8a0RRwMQ:1658245081659&q=Phyathai+Hospital&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj6tauopIX5AhVwTmwGHZYqAEsQ1QJ6BAgTEAE&biw=1366&bih=624&dpr=1

Who

Knickers

I claimed by telephone (from Thailand) about 3 months ago. No paperwork, just a few security questions. I was surprised how easy it was.

Did you check your flies?

Loyalty

Apparently, she is something of a journalist, as well as a globe-trotting cat-sitter. I can't help but think there is some exaggeration in her side of the story, but I guess we will never hear the response from the US immigration.

According to the linked article she entered the US under the Visa Waiver Programme. That would give her a 90 day stay in the US for tourism or business. So, she wasn't just transiting on her way to Canada.

Tax

Outcomes

Grave

Nerd