UK National Insurance payments from Thailand

[danstarr]

Dear all,

Does anyone know how I can pay a shortfall in my NI contributions whilst I'm here in Thailand? I've looked on the Direct.gov website but can't seem to find out how to actually pay.

I did a pensions forecast a couple of years ago and it's this period I need to make up because I know there's a time limit on it.

Does anybody have any recent experience of this or know of a way of contacting them directly?

[JohnC]

https://www.gov.uk/international-pension-centre

[chiang mai]

I did so several years ago, it's a simple process and the previous poster supplied the link. If you contact them they'll write to you setting out which years you can pay for and the cost of each.

[danstarr]

Thank you very much!

[ignis]

YES contact them they'll write to you setting out which years you can pay for and the cost of each

Any shortfall must be made up before your 60 if a man, I was told by them, still have there letter somewhere in writing from around 2005...

The other thing, well in my case with state pension, if 30 years paid the weekly pension is £113.10 .... if only 26 years paid then £105.85 is the weekly pension..

[chiang mai]

YES contact them they'll write to you setting out which years you can pay for and the cost of each

Any shortfall must be made up before your 60 if a man, I was told by them, still have there letter somewhere in writing from around 2005...

The other thing, well in my case with state pension, if 30 years paid the weekly pension is £113.10 .... if only 26 years paid then £105.85 is the weekly pension..

I understand the £113.10 for 30 years but £105.85 for 26 confuses me, I thought each year is worth 1/30th hence 26 years should be £98.02, no?

[ignis]

YES contact them they'll write to you setting out which years you can pay for and the cost of each

Any shortfall must be made up before your 60 if a man, I was told by them, still have there letter somewhere in writing from around 2005...

The other thing, well in my case with state pension, if 30 years paid the weekly pension is £113.10 .... if only 26 years paid then £105.85 is the weekly pension..

I understand the £113.10 for 30 years but £105.85 for 26 confuses me, I thought each year is worth 1/30th hence 26 years should be £98.02, no?

No idea that is what they told me from Newcastle in 2005, I also entered the details they set me last week on the website, and this is what figure came out..

I did have some years contracted out [but no idea what that means? worked in UK 1991 - 1996 they used something called SERPS ]

I lost the paperwork from one Country so also missing over 4 years as no idea, and both the then Boss and his wife died, 15 and 12 years ago. All the other Countries have paperwork from and were forwarded to UK and have been added years ago.

Edited June 29, 2014 by ignis

[stubuzz]

Now, you need 35 years for a full pension.

[ignis]

Now, you need 35 years for a full pension.

That is for people born after April 1951 I think ? I have always looked born before this date as that applies to me.

[chiang mai]

Yes that's correct, pre-1951 only require 30.

Re: your earlier numbers and my query - now I understand that includes SERPS I better understand the math.

[CharlieH]

SERPS = State Earnings Related Pension Scheme.

[starship]

Now, you need 35 years for a full pension.

This is news to me, but I have not kept up with any changes that may have happened in recent years. Do you have a link to clarify this?

I thought it was always 40 years for a full pension and then they dropped it to 30 years. Have they changed it again?

If so, while I agree on the face of it the U.K pension seems a good deal, I would be interested in the thoughts of others as to if paying voluntary contributions is a good idea. I've held back from it for a while because I can quite imagine a scenario where you reach retirement age and the government says 'sorry we can't provide pensions anymore, no money left' or the retirement age is 75 or something, in which case you may already be dead.

If you have only worked a small part of a contributory year there's a fair amount of money to be paid for that year, and of course if you're an expat paying voluntary contributions over a long period of time it will amount to a considerable sum. In the event that the government didn't pay a pension, all that money would have been lost, instead perhaps, of being invested elsewhere.

Actually, I don't know what, if anything, you would be entitled to as an expat if you had no pension. Could you still claim pension credit or income support? I know they're in the process of changing the pension system (next year?) but they seem to be continually moving the goalposts as to what you are entitled to.

Appreciate your comments.

Thanks.

[Maroon Watcher]

Last time I checked they refused even basic info by "unsafe email"

I did phone before that and they were very good - you need 30 years of payments apparently

[12DrinkMore]

To qualify for the new pension rate being introduced you need 35 years contributions, if you have fewer years the pension is reduced pro-rata.

In front of me I have a recent letter stating I can pay the extra contributions for the years from 2006-2013 and they give me until 5th April 2019 to pay with no penalty, final time limit is 5th April 2023. So no rush.

Step 1 is to ask for a summary of what you have paid, and ask which years you can pay.

Whether it is worth it depends on how long you have left.

I intend to top up my current 30 years to the full 35 years.

The government will always be able to pay, the BoE will bail them out if they can't sell UK government debt into the market.

[twix38]

Here is my understanding.

originally you needed 40 years to qualify

That was changed to 30 years as described.

New proposals which I think should come into effect in 2016 as they are not yet law will change it to 35 years.

It is about to change to 35 years to qualify for a full pension unfortunately. I have 30 years and so with the change I will need to buy 5 years when I previously had full pension entitlement. The basic pension amount is being increased, although if you were contracted out they failed to make clear that you would not get the full pension even with full qualifying years because you would not have paid the full N.I. contribution rate AND they are about to raise from 30 years to 35 years.

Edited July 1, 2014 by twix38

[sometimewoodworker]

YES contact them they'll write to you setting out which years you can pay for and the cost of each

Any shortfall must be made up before your 60 if a man, I was told by them, still have there letter somewhere in writing from around 2005...

The other thing, well in my case with state pension, if 30 years paid the weekly pension is £113.10 .... if only 26 years paid then £105.85 is the weekly pension..

Sorry you are wrong about the 60 cutoff for men. I'm over 60 and just made up the total to 30 years.

[Pdavies99]

Now, you need 35 years for a full pension.

Here is the full up to date CORRECT answer:

Future flat-rate state pensions

The Government originally proposed that in April 2017 the Basic and Second State Pensions should both be replaced by a single, flat-rate pension. A Green Paper was issued in April 2011,[10] followed by a White Paper in January 2013.[11] The amount of an individual's flat-rate pension would depend on the number of qualifying years, with 35 qualifying years being needed for the maximum pension and pro-rata amounts for fewer qualifying years, subject to a minimum of about 8 years. Rights already earned to a Second State Pension would not be lost. In the 2013 budget it was announced that introduction of the single tier pension will be brought forward by one year to 6 April 2016.[12]

The new "single tier" State pension will be £144 a week (in 2012-13 terms). Provided they have 35 qualifying years, individuals will actually receive £144 a week, plus a "protected amount" if they have already earned a second State pension greater than £37 a week (which is the difference between the current Basic State Pension and the proposed flat-rate pension), and minus a "rebate-derived amount" if they have paid smaller National Insurance contributions because they were "contracted out" of the Second State Pension Scheme (or its predecessor, the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme).[13]

These changes are now law, they were enacted by the Pensions Act 2014 which received Royal Assent on 14th May 2014

[Jonmarleesco]

Time limit is seven years. You currently need to have made 30 years of contributions to qualify for full pension, but that changes again in 2016, to 35 years. Click on: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ni/volcontr/abroad.htm

[watso63]

YES contact them they'll write to you setting out which years you can pay for and the cost of each

Any shortfall must be made up before your 60 if a man, I was told by them, still have there letter somewhere in writing from around 2005...

The other thing, well in my case with state pension, if 30 years paid the weekly pension is £113.10 .... if only 26 years paid then £105.85 is the weekly pension..

I understand the £113.10 for 30 years but £105.85 for 26 confuses me, I thought each year is worth 1/30th hence 26 years should be £98.02, no?

You get 3 years free, for the ages from 16-19. The contributions are taken from your 19th birthday. Check out the rules for the new state pension. Qualifying years are 35, so I am going to be 2 years short. Of course I could pay extra contributions to top it up, but I will only do this if they unfreeze (my), all expat pensions.

[watso63]

Here is my understanding.

originally you needed 40 years to qualify

That was changed to 30 years as described.

New proposals which I think should come into effect in 2016 as they are not yet law will change it to 35 years.

It is about to change to 35 years to qualify for a full pension unfortunately. I have 30 years and so with the change I will need to buy 5 years when I previously had full pension entitlement. The basic pension amount is being increased, although if you were contracted out they failed to make clear that you would not get the full pension even with full qualifying years because you would not have paid the full N.I. contribution rate AND they are about to raise from 30 years to 35 years.

You may well havee 33 years. Depends how many years contributions you've pai since your 19th birthday.

[jacko45k]

They can be a little obtuse some times, lumping you in with Self Employed, but you can get there in the end.

It was easier for me perhaps as I did trips to the UK and could call them, and set up a direct debit from my UK account.

I also got a statement mailed to Thailand, you can print the form off from their website, complete it and mail it in.

Edited July 1, 2014 by jacko45k

[sandyf]

This is the way it used to be.

How much basic State Pension

will I get?

The tax years during which you build up

entitlement to the basic State Pension are

called ‘qualifying years’. A number of things

can affect whether or not you can get a State

Pension and the amount you receive.

If you are a man, you normally need to have

44 qualifying years to be entitled to the full

(100%) basic State Pension. In 2006/07, the

full basic State Pension is £84.25 a week for

a single person. If you are a woman who will

reach the age of 60 before 2010, you

normally need 39 qualifying years to get the

full basic State Pension.However, when the

State Pension age becomes 65 for women

as well as men in 2020, the number of

qualifying years a woman will normally need

to get the full basic State Pension will

increase to 44. The years a woman has

chosen to pay married woman’s reduced-rate

National Insurance contributions do not

count towards qualifying years.

[sometimewoodworker]

This is the way it used to be.

How much basic State Pension

will I get?

The tax years during which you build up

entitlement to the basic State Pension are

called qualifying years. A number of things

can affect whether or not you can get a State

Pension and the amount you receive.

If you are a man, you normally need to have

44 qualifying years to be entitled to the full

(100%) basic State Pension. In 2006/07, the

full basic State Pension is £84.25 a week for

a single person. If you are a woman who will

reach the age of 60 before 2010, you

normally need 39 qualifying years to get the

full basic State Pension.However, when the

State Pension age becomes 65 for women

as well as men in 2020, the number of

qualifying years a woman will normally need

to get the full basic State Pension will

increase to 44. The years a woman has

chosen to pay married womans reduced-rate

National Insurance contributions do not

count towards qualifying years.

You do say that that is how it used to be.

But as that is not the case now why do you bother to post it at all???

You will need 35 qualifying years to get the full new State Pension.

a man born on or after 6 April 1951

a woman born on or after 6 April 1953

If you were born before these date you get the old State Pension. You will need 30 qualifying years.

[sandyf]

This is the way it used to be.

How much basic State Pension

will I get?

The tax years during which you build up

entitlement to the basic State Pension are

called qualifying years. A number of things

can affect whether or not you can get a State

Pension and the amount you receive.

If you are a man, you normally need to have

44 qualifying years to be entitled to the full

(100%) basic State Pension. In 2006/07, the

full basic State Pension is £84.25 a week for

a single person. If you are a woman who will

reach the age of 60 before 2010, you

normally need 39 qualifying years to get the

full basic State Pension.However, when the

State Pension age becomes 65 for women

as well as men in 2020, the number of

qualifying years a woman will normally need

to get the full basic State Pension will

increase to 44. The years a woman has

chosen to pay married womans reduced-rate

National Insurance contributions do not

count towards qualifying years.

You do say that that is how it used to be.

But as that is not the case now why do you bother to post it at all???

You will need 35 qualifying years to get the full new State Pension.

a man born on or after 6 April 1951

a woman born on or after 6 April 1953

If you were born before these date you get the old State Pension. You will need 30 qualifying years.

Post No 15!!

[sometimewoodworker]

This is the way it used to be.

How much basic State Pension

will I get?

The tax years during which you build up

entitlement to the basic State Pension are

called qualifying years. A number of things

can affect whether or not you can get a State

Pension and the amount you receive.

If you are a man, you normally need to have

44 qualifying years to be entitled to the full

(100%) basic State Pension. In 2006/07, the

full basic State Pension is £84.25 a week for

a single person. If you are a woman who will

reach the age of 60 before 2010, you

normally need 39 qualifying years to get the

full basic State Pension.However, when the

State Pension age becomes 65 for women

as well as men in 2020, the number of

qualifying years a woman will normally need

to get the full basic State Pension will

increase to 44. The years a woman has

chosen to pay married womans reduced-rate

National Insurance contributions do not

count towards qualifying years.

You do say that that is how it used to be.

But as that is not the case now why do you bother to post it at all???

You will need 35 qualifying years to get the full new State Pension.

a man born on or after 6 April 1951

a woman born on or after 6 April 1953

If you were born before these date you get the old State Pension. You will need 30 qualifying years.

Post No 15!!

And so? Read your post no 22 again, it's wrong.

Or better still take the time to get it right or edit it so that it is correct.

[oTwoPies]

+1 #17:

My understanding is the information contained in post #17 is correct.

and agreed, there really is no point posting past,out of date rules/laws; it is the current rules/laws that are applicable so again I reinforce op #17

[sandyf]

This is the way it used to be.

How much basic State Pension

will I get?

The tax years during which you build up

entitlement to the basic State Pension are

called qualifying years. A number of things

can affect whether or not you can get a State

Pension and the amount you receive.

If you are a man, you normally need to have

44 qualifying years to be entitled to the full

(100%) basic State Pension. In 2006/07, the

full basic State Pension is £84.25 a week for

a single person. If you are a woman who will

reach the age of 60 before 2010, you

normally need 39 qualifying years to get the

full basic State Pension.However, when the

State Pension age becomes 65 for women

as well as men in 2020, the number of

qualifying years a woman will normally need

to get the full basic State Pension will

increase to 44. The years a woman has

chosen to pay married womans reduced-rate

National Insurance contributions do not

count towards qualifying years.

You do say that that is how it used to be.

But as that is not the case now why do you bother to post it at all???

You will need 35 qualifying years to get the full new State Pension.

a man born on or after 6 April 1951

a woman born on or after 6 April 1953

If you were born before these date you get the old State Pension. You will need 30 qualifying years.

Post No 15!!

And so? Read your post no 22 again, it's wrong.

Or better still take the time to get it right or edit it so that it is correct.

It is a direct extract from the Inland revenue guidance note PM2 dated Sept 2006.

[sometimewoodworker]

It is a direct extract from the Inland revenue guidance note PM2 dated Sept 2006.

Which makes it out of date Edited July 3, 2014 by sometimewoodworker

[MAJIC]

Now, you need 35 years for a full pension.

You need 30 years NI Contributions!for a full Basic Pension, read this link stating Eligibility!

https://www.gov.uk/state-pension/eligibility

Edited July 3, 2014 by MAJIC

[sometimewoodworker]

Now, you need 35 years for a full pension.

You need 30 years NI Contributions!for a full Basic Pension, read this link stating Eligibility!

https://www.gov.uk/state-pension/eligibility

That could be true or not depending on your date of birth.

It is true if you are

a man born before 6 April 1951

a woman born on before 6 April 1953

You will get the full current pension with 30 years

But if you are

a man born on or after 6 April 1951

a woman born on or after 6 April 1953

Then you need 35 years to get the full new pension

new-state-pension

Also if

You are a man born on or after 6 April 1951 or a woman born on or after 6 April 1953

Youll be able to pay voluntary contributions to make up for National Insurance contribution gaps between April 2006 and April 2016. The deadline to make these contributions is 5 April 2023.

Edited July 3, 2014 by sometimewoodworker