State Pension Contributions Living Abroad

Hello, I lived and worked abroad from 2006-2016 in a country without a pension system. Is it possible to make a voluntary state pension contribution to cover those years? Thank you,

Hi
You may be eligible to pay voluntary National Insurance contributions for the period you were living and working abroad.
You should complete application form CF83, which can be found on the GOV.UK website by searching for leaflet N I38 (CF83 application form is at the back of this leaflet) - Social Security abroad: NI38 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
However, I must stress that this application form must be received by HMRC prior to 05/04/2023.
If it is not received by that date, tax years 2006-2017 to 2016-2017 will no longer be available to pay.
Thankyou.
Regards.
 

Hi, I completed this Form CF83 and sent it by registered post on 06 Feb to the address at the end of the form ( PT Operations North East England, HM Revenue and Customs, BX9 1AN United Kingdom) The post registered delivery on 20th Feb.However this has not been acknowledged by HMRC. Also no messages have been added to my HMRC tax account to acknowledge it. My question is: If it continues not to be Acknowledged beyond cutoff date of 05 April despite registered post mail delivery service confirming delivery, will the fact that the post with CF83 form was sent on before the cutoff date, allow my request to pay voluntary contributions for the years 2006-2016 be allowed? As otherwise this is a travesty. Thank You

Hi Thomas Murphy,

Our EU caseworkers are currently working on post 6 September 2022

Row staff are currently working on post received 15 August 2022

As the application is made by post the Personal Tax Account (PTA) will not show any updates or acknowledgements.

You application will be honoured from the date received and the delay in responding will be ignored and you will be allowed to pay at the rate in place at the time your post

was received and will also receive a extension to the time limits to pay.

Thank you. 
 

HI, I am in a similar situation to Thomas Murphy above. I have sent my completed form CF83 by registered post to the same address. However the form only asks in section 7 - Shortfall of National Insurance contributions if you want to know of any shortfall of National Insurance contributions that you can pay. No where on the form does it have a section to state the shortfall years you want to pay. I have included a cover sheet requesting to prioritize the payment of shortfall of National Insurance contributions for the tax years 2006 to 2016 before the deadline of 5th April 2023 and the details on how to do this. You state above in the reply to Thomas Murphy that "the application will be honoured from the date received and the delay in responding will be ignored and you will be allowed to pay at the rate on place at the time of your post was received and will also receive a extension to the time limits to pay.." Can you confirm that this will cover the tax years 2006-2017 to 2016-2017 and that once my letter is processed which may be after the deadline of 5th April 2023 that I will still be contacted and allowed to pay for the years 2006-2017 to 2016-2017 ? If not then how can I pay these before the deadline ? I cannot get through on the phone and it is very expensive ringing from abroad Regards Michael

Hi I sent my completed CF83 from abroad approximately 3 weeks ago by regular mail. Is there a way to check it has been recieved before the cut-off date 5th April 2023. Thank you John

Thank You, HMRC Admin 25, very appreciated.

I am in the process of completing form CF83 and will post it this week. Would it be possible to confirm the following. 1)Should I send it by registered post in order to have a record of the date it arrived? 2)Is the correct postal address PT Operations, North East England, HM Revenue and Customs BX91AN, UK? 3)I have completed form to the best of my ability and applied to pay class2 contributions. If any of this is incorrect will my application be invalidated or will HMRC contact me to make changes. I have been unable to get anyone by phone to answer queries so I hope that my application is not invalid if I make a mistake. Many thanks

Hi Orchard Exile,

Your CF83 application will be honoured from the date it was received by HMRC. So, if it was received prior to 05 April 2023 and you have ticked the box to request a shortfall of National Insurance contribution for previous years, tax years 2006-2007 to 2016-2017 will still be quoted on your shortfall (if you are eligible to pay them) regardless of when it is processed by HMRC. 

There is nowhere on the form for you to state which shortfall years you want to pay as HMRC would quote all years that are available for you to pay, then you would contact the Pension Service to confirm if paying for any of the years quoted will increase your pension. This information will be sent to you once your application is processed.

Thank you. 
 

Hi Lisa Jackson,

Thank you for your query. I can confirm that the address you have provided is the correct address for you to send your completed CF83 application to.

It is entirely your choice to send it by registered post or not.

The date it is received by HMRC is the date we will accept your application from i.e. if we receive it prior to 31/07/2023 (this deadline date has been extended from 05/04/2023) your application will still be considered for tax years 2006-2007 to 2016-2017 if you have requested a shortfall for previous tax years.

If you are not eligible to pay at the class 2 rate and would like to be considered for the class 3 rate, please enclose a note with your application to request this.

If HMRC have any queries about your application, you will be contacted either by telephone or post.

Thank you. 

Hello, I currently live in Florida and have registered online and received a gateway number. However I am unable go further as I can’t verify my identity online as I don’t have two of the required documents, only one (passport). Therefore I have been unable to download any forms or get a pension forecast. I have spent hours and considerable money calling different phone numbers but have not got through to a live person to ask how to proceed. Please advise how I can verify my identity and get started on getting a forecast and making voluntary payments. Thank you in advance.

Hi Kielyjp,

To check if we received your form, you would need to contact our National Insurance team.

National Insurance: general enquiries

HMRC has extended the deadline for voluntary National Insurance payments until 31 July 2023. 

Thank you.

Hi Jillian Hainer-Jones,

Please see the guidance here:

Application for a State Pension forecast

Thank you.

Hi, I would like to submit a CF83 form to make class 2 voluntary contributions for years I worked overseas (2012-2020). The form is catered more towards people who are about to work abroad, or recently moved. I was advised on the phone to include a cover letter explaining my employment during those years and also to provide proof of employment for those years. I am providing the dates I started working abroad and the name and address of the employers. I am also providing tax documents for those years as proof. I was wondering if there is anything else you recommend I need to include to make sure this goes smoothly, especially as there is such a long delay in getting these processed. Thank you!

After weeks of failed attempts to contact DWP, please can HMRC tell me if it is safe to assume that I can use the information contained in my last State Pension forecast (October 2022) to make a voluntary NI contribution? DWP told me that I can pay the 5 years 2017/18 to 2021/22, which will each boost my State Pension by 5.29. Can I go ahead with my payment to HMRC knowing that nothing will have altered in the last 6 months? I know that there are no refunds if you pay the wrong years, so I am wary of paying without getting an update from DWP. However, I cannot carry on spending vast quantities of money on international phone calls, and my letters to them remain unanswered. Please advise.

I posted a letter back to the uk today 19th April 2023 (from Thailand) enclosing form CF 83 to have me amended to Class 2 contributions ..... Reading earlier comments - There seems to be a 6 month back-log .... Is this still corect ? - Say my letter arrives at your offices on 1st May 2023 - when do you think my request will be actioned and a reply sent to me.. ?.. Thank you ....

Hi nottalexi Nott,

It sounds as though you will have everything covered, however please ensure the box on the CF83 that asks if you would like to be quoted arrears is selected.

Thank you.

 

Hi IslandGirl,

I am sorry that you have been unable to contact the National Insurance Helpline, I am unable to advise you about making a Voluntary National Insurance payment.
If you have sent in correspondence in relation to this, it will be treat as worked on the day it was scanned onto our system.
The timescales for the processing of correspondence is shown below.
EU – Currently dealing with work from 24-09-2022, 29 weeks.
Rest of the World – Currently dealing with work from 14-04-2023, 1 week.

Thank you.


 

Hello. I'm unclear if I should submit a CF83 form. I am currently in New Zealand. My family and I left the UK to live in New Zealand in May 2022. It was supposed to be a permanent move (we sold our house, etc). Our plans have changed and we're expecting to move back to the UK permanently in August 2023. I held a job (30+ hours/week) with a NZ company between August 2022-April 2023. When I was hired it was a NZ-based company, but the day I started it was announced it had been taken over my a multi-national, which has offices in the UK. I wasn't allowed to pay into KiwiSaver or contribute to any kind of pension, due to my immigration status. I left the company last month, and I'm not expecting to hold another job before I return to the UK. Because of all this, I'm not sure if I'm obliged to pay NI contributions for the time period I've been in New Zealand, or if it's only optional. Please tell me which it is, and which forms I can/should complete? I'd like to submit them asap. Thank you.

Hi john woodall,

I cannot advise when your specific letter will be dealt with, however I can advise that the department that deals with CF83’s are currently dealing with application received in August 2022.

Thank you.