How to Pay Voluntary National Insurance Contributions from Abroad

Hi, I looked up my national insurance record online and wished to pay the back contributions to bring things up to date before the deadline. As I am abroad I followed the attached guide http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/gds/payinghmrc/ins13.pdf for paying from a UK bank account (pay to sort code 20 20 48 and account number 30944793). I used the reference number being my national insurance number surname and initial. I have not filled in any forms, I simply paid the amount showing on my record I could pay in back contributions. I note from other posts that it can take up to 39 weeks for my record to be updated. What re-assurance can I get that a) HMRC has received my contributions b) I have done enough for HMRC to allocate my contributions correctly. I don't want to wait 39 weeks to find out I need to fill in additional forms, etc, etc or worse find that my back-payments made have disappeared into the ether and then I have to begin a long process of finding out with HMRC where my payments went

Hi Sydney,

When you completed your CF83 application to make a payment from abroad our International Caseworker (ICW) will have provided a shortfall table if you requested shortfall information. SEE Social Security abroad: NI38
They would also advise prior to making a payment to make contact the Department for Works and pensions that paying the shortfalls will enhance your state pension entitlement.
When your payment is processed our ICW will use the previous correspondence and system notes to know which years you are paying and allocate accordingly.
If you requested a receipt when you made your payment this is issued by our banking team, if you made a payment online then when the money is debited from your bank account our banking team have processed the request, however in both scenarios our ICW will need to update your NI record to show the contributions.  
They will then issue a letter of confirmation to your nominated address.

Thank you.

Thank you HMRC Admin 20 for your reply, but if you re-read my original post you will see that I have not filled in a CF83 application, nor been assigned an ICW. "I have not filled in any forms, I simply paid the amount showing on my record I could pay in back contributions." I have simply looked up on your website using my government gateway ID what National Insurance Contributions I owe and paid these to the HMRC bank account as specified in my original post. Hence the two questions I asked remain unanswered in your response. Perhaps to simplify things can you tell me: a) Have I done enough for HMRC to allocate the monies I sent by EFT to my NI record to fill up the back contributions I have voluntarily paid to increase my pension? b) If not what further steps do I need to take/other forms (If any) I need to fill in? Can you send me exact instructions on what I need to do if anything? Best regards

Hi Moray Vincent,

Customers who are living abroad should complete a CF83 in order to pay voluntary contributions.  
When this isn’t done, you could pay the wrong amount of contributions, or pay for years that don’t count towards your pension.
 In this case you will need to call the National Insurance helpline.  

Thank you.
 

I am also abroad and tried to make payments from abroad for a shortfall from whilst I was living in the Uk and then for the period after I left the UK For the UK residency part, the name of the account given to me by HMRC - HMRC NIC RECEIPTS - did not match the name given by the HSBC name checker - even though the account and sort numbers were the same 08 32 20 and 12001004. It was something lHMRC NIC DEFICIENT PAYMENTS (as a description it is correct but that is not the point!) Therefore as HSBC were unable to change the name I made a payment though the gov.uk website - just googled “paying voluntary Class 3 NI Contributions” and then you can click through onto making a payment. They then redirect you back to HSBC so at least you know the account details are correct. The reference that came up on my HSBC app afterwards was HMRC NICO - which actually was one of the original HSBC options! I then needed to make a payment for the period I have been outside the UK - and having checked all the amounts previously on the phone with HMRC +44 300 200 3500 decided to try and make the payment from the HSBC app. This time the details matched - Sort code 20 20 48 and the account is 30944793 and as the name matched I made the payment direct from HSBC So it has taken me all morning to do this, but at last it is sorted! Hope this helps others

I have lived in Ireland since 1996 and wish to make up shortfalls in my UK NI contributions. I have twice posted form CF83 but have heard nothing back after several weeks. I am concerned about making the July deadline for older contributions. Is there anything else I can do than just wait? Thanks

Hello, I have also been living abroad since 1996 and posted my CF83 in January and had an initial response saying the expected completion date was Feb 21, subsequently changed to "In progress" but I have had no update since. I have tried ringing but have been cut off each time. I am worried that if I just wait for a reply, I will end up missing the payment deadline of July 31st. I would like to pay the shortfall years with Class 2 contributions, but the advice is that you need an 18 digit payment reference number to pay this online, and that the only way to get this is to ring HMRC. Like a lot of people, I haven't been able to get through yet. Can you advise? Can I make the payment using the NI number as a reference instead? Grateful for any advice. Thanks Ray

Hi Jane Brennan,

You can check how long we are currently taking to deal with your post here:

Check when you can expect a reply from HMRC

Even if your CF83 is not dealt with prior to the July deadline, we accept the date it was received, so if you are eligible to pay voluntary contributions, you will still be able to pay.

Thank you
 

Hi Ray Tomany,
The deadline for paying voluntary NICs has been extended until 5 April 2025.
If you are accepted to pay voluntary NICs at the class 2 rate you will be provided with how to pay when we write to you.
The 18 digit reference you refer to is for customers in the UK paying voluntary UK class 3 NICs.
Thank you. 
 

Hi, I need a bit of advice please. My wife is an Italian national who worked in the UK for over 15 years before emigrating abroad. Is she able to apply for Class 2 NI by competing form CF83 to continue making contributions for the full state pension? Regards, 

Name removed admin 

Hi,

If your wife is employed or self-employed abroad, she may be eligible to pay voluntary National Insurance contributions at the class 2 rate. She will need to complete the CF83 application form for us to check if she is eligible or not. Please see notes within the NI38 (Social Security Abroad) which outlines the conditions that need to be met to pay at the class 2 rate.

Social Security abroad: NI38

Thank you.

Hi, I recently moved to the US (August, 2022) and would like to voluntarily pay National Insurance. I don't know when I will be moving back to England but I will be back there one day so want to make sure i can access the state pension when I am at the correct age. I married an American and changed my name - all my new US visa docs show my new name, as well as my marriage license but I haven't changed any UK documents yet as I still need my passport right now. Can I fill in form CF83 with my name married name and attach my marriage license to the application when I send this off? Thank you for your help

Hi Lily Dominey,

If you could complete the CF83 application form with your current surname then this will enable us to update your National Insurance account.  
Question 4 on the CF83 asks about your previous surname so this will match the current details recorded on your National Insurance account.

Thank you.

Hi, I started this post 6 months ago, filled in my CF83, was assigned a caseworker, had an acknowledgement on 28 April 2023 (by mail) that my payment had been received (thank you), but I had to explain when I made it (a slightly ridiculous question as the letter sent to me referenced the date it was received) and which years it applied to and how I calculated it. I have responded to all of these questions time as I sent a letter on 23rd April and a follow up letter on 1 July. I think in your first response to my original query you outlined the process that the online records will be updated and I will receive a letter of confirmation, however neither of these have occurred so I was inquiring as to the time frame within which I should expect a response and at what point should I be following up to ensure things have not gone awry (and how is it best to follow up as both my letters sent to date have not been acknowledged or responded to as yet despite many months passing). Sorry to hassle you, but updates to these posts in the community forum seem to be far more timely than other responses from HMRC

Thank you so much for the amazing Information. I was looking for it and finally got it from here. Thanks again

Hi, I have been paying voluntary contributions from abroad for a while now. 2 months ago they went to take the money out my account but couldn’t so they refunded the money. Now they are not taking any money out my account. I do not want to fill in forms again. Please just continue to take the payments from me.

Hello, I hope this question is in the correct place to ask, and makes sense? I worked in UK and have 24 years full NI contributions. I moved abroad in 2006 with full time employment from the start. I am still living in the same country. (so I have worked 17 years abroad in full time work - paying contributions to country of residence) From my forecast, I need another 8 years of NI contributions to obtain full pension. Looking at the missing NI years, it averages 850 pounds per year. (approx 6800 pounds total) Is there any way to reduce the amounts per year, or a way to pay the outstanding amount on a monthly basis? I have looked at NI38/Form CF83, but not sure if relavent for my request? Am I class 1 or class 2? I am not sure Thanks for any advice/help/pointers regards 

Name removed admin 

I wrote to HMRC workpensions in August that I need them to change my direct debit bank details for the monthly payments of voluntary NI contributions. This is because my current bank is closing the accounts of overseas customers by December 2023. I phoned today and was told there is a 42week backlog/delay in HMRC work and pensions in dealing with this. This means my payments will be stopped before my request is dealt with and I will have two years (2023 and 2024) where there is a gap in contributions. What on earth do I do? Please help.

Hi Moray Vincent,

Our International Team that deal with these queries are currently dealing with queries from customers received in February 2023 for EU countries or October 2022
for customers outside of the EU.
You may wish to call our National Insurance Helpline on 0300 200 3500 to check when you can expect a reply to your query.

Thank you.

Hi Mr P,

Sorry for the delay in dealing with your request to change your bank details to continue to collect your voluntary National Insurance contributions.  
I note that your bank account will be closed before we are able to reply to you.  I can confirm that we’ll be able to help you catch up with your voluntary contributions
when we restart your direct debit so that there will be no gap.

Thank you.