UK NI Contributions While Living In Thailand.

[RustBucket]

I have lived in Thailand for 5 years and I have just turned 50 at the weekend. I am now thinking about shortfall in my NI contributions to qualify for my UK state pension when I reach eligible age.

I have looked around the internet, but it is all very confusing with conflicting information here and there.

Is anyone here paying basic stamp to keep their NICs going for their pension?.... are we even allowed to pay NI while living abroad for a long period??

Any advice is much appreciated.

Edited April 6, 2015 by RustBucket

[Forkinhades]

You can get a voluntary stamp, which is about £7 a week, from memory.

You also 'only' need 30 years to get a full pension.

[brewsterbudgen]

You can pay in a lump sum to top up your contributions.

[Henryford]

You can get a voluntary stamp, which is about £7 a week, from memory.

You also 'only' need 30 years to get a full pension.

Isn't it now 35 years

[Rooo]

Moved to Home Country Forum.

[Forkinhades]

You can get a voluntary stamp, which is about £7 a week, from memory.

You also 'only' need 30 years to get a full pension.

Isn't it now 35 years

NO

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

[RustBucket]

You can get a voluntary stamp, which is about £7 a week, from memory.

You also 'only' need 30 years to get a full pension.

Isn't it now 35 years

I think that depends on what year you were born. I am pretty sure I am in the 30 year category.

I actually found a pension calculator online on the gov.uk site. Very helpful.

I am currently rated at 85 quid a week and the maximum is 115.95 so only 31 quid short of the max.

Hoping basic pension will be about 300 a week by the time I retire at 67 A nice top up to my private pension.

Link below.

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

I also found a webpage where you can send an enquiry for a breakdown of where you are in qualification for full pension.

Link below.

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/national-insurance-enquiries-for-non-uk-residents

Thanks for the replies.

[Forkinhades]

The link I provided clearly says 30 years, from the government's site.

Anyway if your happy with the replies I can close the thread.

Can see a big argument with 30 or 35 years.

....hmm might keep it open for a bit

[Forkinhades]

I think the thing that had changed is when you can get your pension. I know for me it is 67

[kevc]

My wife's pension was short when we moved to Thailand she worked for nine years and they sent a letter saying if she paid an extra 370 pounds she would get full pension on retirement.

[Daailo]

I paid voluntary contributions (class 3) for over 20 years and stopped paying when I had the 30 qualifying years. I had heard about the changes in the new state pension when I was back in the UK over Christmas so wrote to the pension office in Newcastle to find out if I needed to 'top-up' to be eligible for the full state pension. As of today (6th April) you only need 10 qualifying years to receive a state pension but it will not be a full state pension. To get the full amount you need 35 qualifying years.

You can buy back from previous years if you missed a payment however there is a time limit. Interesting they informed me that since 2000 it was cheaper to pay class 2 contributions however you have to be eligible. When I first started paying the class 3 contributions it was 200-300 GBP a year - for the year 2013-2014 it is now 700 GBP so I will look into if I am eligible for the class 2 contributions.

Suggest you look at the Government website and write them a letter to know your exact position (and remember that living in Thailand is one of the countries that you do not receive an increment every year).

[Forkinhades]

^ very interesting that the government site says 30.

I seem to remember a conversation last year about this, and indeed I am now thinking that it will change to 35, but not just yet?

OK thread still open

I'm going to research this.

[Daailo]

Apologies for my earlier post - I have just re-read the letter from the Pension Office and the changes do not come into force until 6th April 2016.

[Forkinhades]

^ Thanks Daailo, that rings true, and I'm corrected.

I will still qualify if I'm still around for a full pension.

[Forkinhades]

Here's the wiki link

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_State_Pension

It was reduced around 2006 to 30 years, and it will increase back to 35, in April 2016

[GuestHouse]

Daailo is correct, the 35 year requirement comes into force in 2016 after which time the new minimum pension will be £148 per week. (£7696 per year)

But to get this amount, those retiring after 2016 need to have 35 years of qualifying contributions.

The current rates for class 2 and 3 are

Class 2: £2.80 per week (£145.60 for every year you need to catch up)

Class 3: £14.10 per week (733.20 for every year you need to catch up)

Under the current pension rates, an individual with 30 years of contributions will receive a pension of £115.95 per week (£6029.40 per year)

The difference between the new pension rate and the old pension rate is: £7696 - £6029.40 = £1666.60

So worst case, if you already have 30 years paid up:

If you pay 5 more years Class 3, this will cost you £3666 now, but will give you an extra £1666.60 per year in retirement.

If you pay 5 more years Class 2, this will cost you £728 now, and again will give you an extra £1666.6 per year in retirement.

Compare this with trying to obtain an additional secure income of £1666.60 per year - you would expect to have to invest at least £30,000 for that sum.

A guaranteed additional pension of £1666.60 per year for an investment of between £728~3666 is the bargain of the century.

[Edit]

Those who started work in there teens and worked full time through to their early to mid 50s should have already paid more than 50 years of stamp.

But I urge you all to check by writing to the Department of Work and Pensions https://www.gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record

Please take the time to set yourself up for the happy situation where you get a cheque for £148 come to you every week for rest of your life once you retire.

As I often say, if you bought a house and found that £148 of cash came through the letter box every Thursday, you'd never want to move.

Edited April 6, 2015 by GuestHouse

[Forkinhades]

^ indeed, I will just keep paying my £2.80 a week self employed contributions.

[Forkinhades]

Still got 22 years to go..... to reach 67 that is

[billphillips]

^ indeed, I will just keep paying my £2.80 a week self employed contributions.

That's only part of the self-employed contribution, not the full amount payable.

[Forkinhades]

^ yeah indeed, the rest is paid with my tax return, and as I'm only there for 6 months, I get a nice little refund

[Craig krup]

I seem to remember reading that if you were unemployed before you went abroad you are allowed to pay the lower rate for the past years you need. It can't be that simple, though, surely.

I heard a civil servant say that there wasn't a good reason why it was decided to up-rate pensions for people who moved to the Philippines (for example) rather than Thailand, it was just that they tried to guess where Brits might go and then negotiated on that basis. You'd guess that in the next few years they'll start up-rating all pensions in line with UK inflation regardless of where you live. They've good every interest keeping you out of the country as you age - they don't want you clogging up beds in hospitals and claiming tens of thousands of pounds in local authority care. There's also a pressure group banging away at it.

http://pensionjustice.org/

Pensioners in Thailand cost the British government hee haw - a little bit of consular assistance once in a blue moon - so you'd have to guess that the full pension, up-rated, should be paid soon, which is why it's so worth having.

Here's an interesting question (or I think so!) - if you delay taking your state pension it increases dramatically. Will they allow you to be outside the UK during the period 65 to 75 (when, I think, you have to take it)? Because if you came from a long-lived family then delaying until 75 dramatically increases the dough that then comes in. It also gives your relatives an incentive to keep you in good shape so that the dough keeps arriving

[kickstart]

I have been liveing in Thailand for 15 years,before regularly working in in the uk before,I use to write to the NI once a year from here, saying how much do I owe you to bring my NI cotributions ,for my pension up to date,they use to write back and say pay x,for class 2 contributions, I sent them a cheque by returne, about 6 years ago they said "You have paid 35 qualifying years you do not need to pay any more," never said that 5 years before for 30 years.

I have had a look at the pension calculator ,and at the present time I will recive a full Uk pension.

[evadgib]

Advice to anyone in the 1958-62 (or thereabouts) age group is to do nothing re the 30 to 35 year NI record until after Apr 2016 when they should contact HMRC again.

(As told to me by HMRC - Gov white paper has yet to be ratified)

Edited April 11, 2015 by evadgib

[mikecwm]

There is a very long post on Brit pensions - if you have the fortitude to work through it all -

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/540525-uk-pensions/

Lots of answers - and some not so useful answers.

Best thing is to write to Newcastle with your NI # and ask them what your particular situation is.

I did that several years ago and was told I had 14 years paid up and needed another 16 for a full State pension. (DOB being in 1947) If you reach retirement age after April 2016 then it will be 35 years.

They gave me long list of back years I could pay up - and I eventually got it up to 30. Rates varied depending on which year I was paying.

Delaying it after 65 gets you an extra 10.2% for each year delayed (and also gets you the inflation indexing until the time you actually start receiving it).

I believe that 1% for each 5 week period of delay will be reduced to about half that next year.

Just checked it - you only receive 1% for each 9 weeks deferral, so an extra 5.8 % for each full year.

The only way around that is to go back and have a quick word with your parents and see if they can hurry up your conception.

Edited April 12, 2015 by mikecwm

[topt]

Advice to anyone in the 1958-62 (or thereabouts) age group is to do nothing re the 30 to 35 year NI record until after Apr 2016 when they should contact HMRC again.

(As told to me by HMRC - Gov white paper has yet to be ratified)

Thanks - potentially saves me a phone call

Mind you it could also change for the better or worse by then...........

Edited April 13, 2015 by topt