UK state pension

Seen it mentioned that you can apply online? Anyone have a link because it's really confusing me.

I studied in UK for 4 years, then lived another 3 there working.

My wife is a UK national and moved to Ireland in 2012.

Hoping we may be able to have some success. Even if it's just her. It's all just overwhelming in terms of what to do.

I got my letter (2 copies in fact) yesterday after applying on line a month ago - still trying to make sense of it as it says I have 13 years when I should only have 9 but nonetheless was really impressed to receive the letter so quickly.
Am I correct in saying I could decide to just make my repayments from 2015 to now and then no more and I would still get a pension, albeit not a full one?

Everyone gets a bonus few years. I think it's to account for time in education (even if not in UK).

Got my forecast back .

Mainly class 2s but a few years when was off with kids have to pay class 3s .

Contacted them because I made a mistake on the online form and to ask about class 2s as the online form does not give the option to request class the way the paper form did .

The guy on the phone was surprised at that because he said he didn't know the two forms were different but they are . Also more about all the places of employment which as others have found is crucial to what class of contribution you end up making .

He took note of my mistake and put a message on my file .

That was only a few weeks ago .

The letter listing my voluntary payments amount gave a number to contact to confirm whether paying vol contributions would increase your pension or not ?!

Has anyone else noted this ?

I rang a few times , cut off a few then got through and waited in queue about 40mins which is par for the course it seems .

A nice lady from Future Pensions advised me to contact NI to get a reference number and to pay a few of the cheaper years off, taking note and asking NI to take note of the years paid , to bring my pension to the minimum contribution( 10years ) from the 7 which I have .

Not to pay the full amount back in one go . But to check my pension forecast then again 8 to 10 weeks later to ensure all ok ?

I was surprised as I said would I have time to pay the rest before April 2025 but she repeated not to pay all in one go .

Anyone else below minimum 10 years advised to do this ?

Am a bit concerned why I was asked to do that .

I presume your age would have a big factor in the pension forecast and what they are telling you to do, might be different for others. I was not told to do that, but I am 40 so will be paying another 25 years or so.

So do you reckon they don't think I am worth it ?

Was all set to pay as much as I could afford but don't know what to think now .

Thanks for the information in relation to the studying / start off credits. I probably got them from Ireland, but as I only went to UK in 2012 when I was 28 probably why I didn't get them.

I think what they are saying is not to overpay. As people could overpay in their pension but still have the same payout weekly.

You should definitely pay as much as you can.

How many contributions have to go already?

If it's only like 10 then paying all the years will definitely benefit you and get you more per week. If you have 33 then yes don't overpay when you don't have to.

If I was you, I would put the date you finished working in the UK company as the date you "left". After all if you paid Irish tax with the Irish company then technically you stopped being a tax resident in the UK.

Then put the Irish company as the first company you worked with, overseas and so on. Use their Irish address as the company address.

You would have contributed to the Irish prsi for that year and thats proof that you worked overseas.

I asked HMRC what they meant by "immediately after leaving the UK" and they said everyones circumstances are different and there is no set time limit as such. It's the way it's worked that might put people off.

Yes. I won't have over the amount of years but thought definitely worth paying them if I have the funds . That's why I didn't understand why she said only to pay a few to make up the minimum .

(I was wondering if there was a hint in there which I just didn't get ?)

The last year 23/24 is going to cost £907.40 class 3 , which would be a bit of a hike going forward for the next few years if not working and would be something for me to think very hard about .

One thing for people to consider as well if paying from a lump sum or savings , as to calculating value is tax.

You will pay tax on anything you get over and above your Irish state pension .

There is a reciprocal agreement between UK and Ireland where you can fill a form which allows you not to have tax deducted in UK but then you declare your UK pension to Revenue here and it is taxed again

Anyway long story short , when calculating the benefit of paying voluntary NIC, take into account the tax that you will pay on it .

Still a good investment I reckon. Just stay healthy ,

Or in other words "live long and prosper !"🖖

Thanks

Yes I got the informal one from MyWelfare that was immediately available, which I sent to the UK and requested a statement which is the same information in a digital formal letter. So it's number of weeks per year rather than actual weeks. Hopefully it's enough. Will do more digging for dates and send them a copy of the formal one too.

Also, it's worth doing regardless to make sure your Irish prsi payments are what you think they should be.

Sounds good. I submitted tax returns in the UK which will probably count against me, but no harm in giving it a go!

I can feel your pain got on to them after about 40 minutes after several previous attempts noticed that I had an extra €90 on my phone bill (land line).

Friday morning 8am best time to get them . Read that on some forum and it has worked for me.

Tuesday am or Friday pm supposedly easier but who knows.School holidays as well

2.4c for using regular credit, there are cheaper packages. Credit lasts indefinitely if you make one call or send one sms every 6 months.

Have all the lo-call type services like Telesaver and Telestunt been decommissioned? I used to use these but as my Virgin media phone includes calls to the US and UK I haven't done so for years.