Refund of Voluntary NI contribution after mistakenly paying Class 3 instead of 2

In July 2023, I paid voluntary NI contributions to plug holes in my NI record. Around September/October 2023 I received a letter from PT Operations saying it has been decided that I should have paid for Class 2 instead of Class 3 contributions - I had been abroad. I needed to answer some further questions which I did in November 2023. In January 2024 I was sent a letter requesting my bank details for a refund. I replied in Jan 2024 with the bank information. I have heard nothing more since then. Has anyone got experience of requesting/getting such a refund and if so how did this unfold for you? Anybody got an idea how long it takes for the refund to be made? I have just started pension and I need to make some important financial decisions where knowledge of approximately when the refund will take place would be really useful.

Hi,
The timescales for your refund to be processed are different depending on which department will be processing your request.
If you are paying for a period when you were/are living in the EU, that department is currently processing requests received on 29/05/2023, and you
can expect a reply by 13/02/2025.
If you are paying for a period when you were/are living in a country outside of the EU, that department is currently processing requests received on
22/10/2023, and you can expect a reply by 19/09/2024.
These reply dates are estimated and may change.
Thank you.
 

Hi HMRC Admin 20, Thanks very much for your reply - it is good to have an approximate time for the refund. Since I was living in the EU, I'll plan based on receiving this around mid February 2025 then. Incidentally, Am I right in assuming that the processing of the department for EU stuff simply has more cases to work on, or are they typically more complicated to deal with? Thanks v. much.

Hi,

Our International Teams are receiving larger amounts of queries then normal so this is causing a delay to the service that they provide and the work is rather complex to deal with. However, we can assure you that you will not be penalised because of our delays.

Thank you.

Thanks for the explanation of why the non-EU cases have less delay than the EU-related cases, I don't understand the last clause of the reply though - "we can assure you that you will not be penalised because of our delays". Could there have been any scenario related to this, where a penalty was possible? Thanks again.

Hi Kwaku Frimpong-Ansah,
Sometimes an individual may have an additional query about something that may be time limited so we assure them that we will use the rates in force when we received their query when we reply regardless of how long it takes us to reply.
Thank you.

I have a similar situation. I was working overseas from 2005 until 2023 when I returned to the UK. I then called HMRC last year to explain my situation and was told to pay Class 3 contributions for the missing years overseas. I’ve done that and my NI record shows I am up to date and expected to receive the full State Pension of approximately £11500 per annum. However, I believe that I should have been advised to pay Class 2 contributions not Class 3 as I worked in Singapore for 18 years until I returned in 2023. Prior to that, I lived and worked in the UK from 1984 to 2005. My questions: 1. I believe I overpaid and was told to complete the CF83 form online. Is that correct? 2. If I only have to pay the Class 2 amounts (which are much lower than Class 3 I’ve already paid), will this mean my final State Pension is lower due to lower Class 2 contributions? Many thanks

Hi Brighton2023, > 1. I believe I overpaid and was told to complete the CF83 form online. Is that correct? Yes I think you are correct, but after completing the form, HMRC (or the GOV organisation responsible), will make a decision about whether you should have paid Class 2. If you should have paid Class 2 instead of Class 3, I expect the difference to be refunded to you. HMRC would then tell you they'll refund and how much. > 2. If I only have to pay the Class 2 amounts (which are much lower than Class 3 I’ve already paid), will this mean my final State Pension is lower due to lower Class 2 contributions? I do not believe this will mean a reduction in your state pension - i.e. I expect that you will recieve the full state pension as shown in you NI record. HMRC should be able to confirm this to you, if you are able to reach someone on the help line. My case was slightly different but I hope recounting this might be useful for you. I phoned and talked with an HMRC / NI insurance person in Jan 2023 who informed me (as they did you) that they would have to assess whether or not I should pay Class 2 or Class 3. I filled in the CF83 form and sent this off (registered post) at end of Jan 2023. I waited several months for a reply. In the meantime the deadline for paying for the missing years approached. I called and asked what to do since HMRC had not decided how I should pay (whether Class 3 amount or Class 2 amount). The staff member informed me that they will probably not have made the decision by the deadline for paying for missing NI years. A staff member told me HMRC will probably allow my lateness in paying for the missing NI years since I had an open case with them. I asked for something written to this end but this was declined. I then wrote to PT Operations around Mar 2023 explaining my case but got no reply. Just before the deadline, not having heard any more from HMRC, I paid the amount associated with Class 3 contributions since I could not take the risk of a lower state pension because I missed the deadline. I paid this on 28 July 2023. I then checked the NI record to confirm this was as expected. Note that I am now retired and recieving a state pension - this is the sum I expected result from filled the NI gaps. Several months past the deadline, I got a letter from HMRC indicating they'd decided that I should have paid an amount associated with Class 2 NI contributions. They wrote that they are aware that I've paid an amount associated with Class 3 contributions. They requested further some further information which I supplied in Nov 2023. They replied on 23 Jan 2023 that they'd calculated an amount to refund to me and requested my bank details. I expect that they'll write a similar letter to you. I replied to the HMRC letter with the little bit of information they wanted (name, signature, tel number, bank details) and sent this off at end of Jan 2024. I hope, as indicated in a previous message in this thread, to receive a reply and refund around mid Feb 2025. ------ To summarise, I think you'll get a refund and a chunk will not be bitten off your state pension as a result, just be warned it might take a long time; hopefully Singapore-related cases should be faster.

Hi Brighton2023,
In order to pay National Insurance contributions (NICs) voluntarily for a period outside of the UK, you need to complete a CF83 application form. The form asks which class of National Insurance you are applying to pay.
From what you have said, it sounds as if you applied to pay Class 3 NICs?  However, without being able to check your record we are unable to give a definitive reply. Please contact our National Insurance team for advice as they will be able to view your original application.
National Insurance: general enquiries 
Thank you.