Paid Voluntary NI contributions - How long is updating of the online NI records taking?

I'm in a similar situation, I paid 4 years voluntary NI back on the 15th May 2024 by bank transfer and these are still not allocated to my NI account. I did however have a notice appear on my NI records saying "There is a short delay in processing some payments. Your forecast will be updated as soon as possible" this notice then disappeared at the beginning of August and still no NI contributions allocated!!

Hi G Brett,
May I ask that you call our National Insurance Helpline on 0300 200 3500 (from the UK) or +44 191 203 7010 (from overseas) and they will be able to check your National Insurance account and make sure that we have received your payment.
Please have your payment details handy when you call them.
Thank you. 
 

I paid NI Contributions for multiple years on September 3rd 2024. I called the helpline and got confirmation over the phone that the payment was received and that my account would be updated. However, no update has appeared yet. Do i need to call again?

Hi Tony,
We are currently dealing with a high volume of voluntary payments.
The timescales depend on the circumstances of your payment and the National Insurance class.
If you paid for an abroad period it can take up to 29 weeks to allocate the payment to your record, if it is a domestic Class 2 payment it can take up to 29 weeks and a domestic Class 3 payment can take up to 8 weeks (based on the automated system allocating the amounts).
The domestic Class 3 payments can also be allocated over the phone, if you’d like to call us on 0300 200 3500 to do so.
However, abroad payments and Class 2 payments take 29 weeks, due to the high volume of other payments in the queue needing to be allocated.
Thank you.

OK. Thank you for the clarification.

I have paid extra contributions from Australia, I have called the help line and was told they would expedite it. I have received my original pension amount, not the top up. Does anyone actually know how long the process takes. HMRC cashed the cheque two months ago?

Hi,
You can find out when you can expect to receive a reply form HMRC here:  
Check when you can expect a reply from HMRC
Thank you.

Hi, I made payments for the Shortfall of NICs following a response to my CF83 request (Periods whilst residing Overseas). I made payments for this to my own and my partner records on 26/04/2024 with a further smaller amount to my partners account made on 23/08/2024 (due to my miscalculating the total amount). So, total funds have now been paid to HMRC. My partners account has been updated with exception of 1 year, but I suspect this was because of the shortfall which I later made payment for. My records have not been updated at all and my payments are yet reflected on my statement. I have called a few times, notably October 2024... I was informed by the call handler that she could confirm payments had been received at their end (HMRC). She would then send an internal memo to the appropriate team to update the records. As of today, 22/01/2025 - the records have still not been updated. Why is this so hard?? The customer service is abysmal.

After living abroad I went through the process to determine what payments I'd need to make to top up my NI contirbutions, and received a letter with confirmation. I duly paid the required amount in July 2024. I called to confirm payment had been received, which it had. My NI record and future pension are still not reflecting the payment.

I paid extra vol contributions from Ireland and sent a sterling cheque on 25 Nov 2024. I registered the mail so have been informed that the cheque was delivered. I then contacted my bank to inquire if the cheque was cashed. And it has been cashed on 11 December 2024. But I have not had any changes made or updated to my pension payment. I have tried to ring the +44 191 203 7010 (from overseas) but cannot get through to anybody to confirm the stage of the payment process. I am concerned since the deadline is looming on 5 April2025. And I need conformation that my payment is being processed. Or is in a queue. When can i expect a reply from HMRC. Thank you.

Today I have been told there is at least a 15 month backlog between the HMRC receiving voluntary NICs contributions and pension forecast update. The confirmation that my payments have been received has been purely verbal i.e. no receipt or acknowledgement. Surely this is an unacceptable standard of service for what is essentially a financial institution ? What is the government doing to reduce this long waiting time ?

Hi,
Please see the below link to check when you can expect a reply.
Check when you can expect a reply from HMRC
Alternatively you can contact our National Insurance team here:
National Insurance: general enquiries
Thank you.

It was the HMRC advisor who stated that there was A 15 month backlog - there is no point in keeping going back to the same people. Your reply doesn’t help me.

Hi. I have received the completed CF83 and made payment q/10/24. The payments are still not showing as of 8/3/25. I called HMRC maybe 6-8 weeks ago and was told that the payment had been received and they would push this across to my NI record. Have also made payments to wife's NI. Also not showing How long does this take?

Checked again today and was told there’s a one year backlog. There has been no confirmation other than over the phone that my payment has been received, in no other walk of life is this remotely acceptable. I know that it’s nothing to do with the people we speak to or who post here but how on earth are we to know what our new forecasts are and whether the top up’s were sufficient. It is surely quicker to update the records than answer calls three or four times from taxpayers chasing their payment? Anyway is it really 12-15 months now not the 28 weeks as previously advised ?

Hi Anthony Chilcott,
Due to the unprecedented volume of contact regarding voluntary contributions, including the number of payments we have received, the timescale for allocating payments has been steadily increasing in recent months.
Our current timescale is that it will take anything up to 65 weeks for payments to be allocated.
If you have already confirmed that we have received your payment, then it will be allocated in due course, and we would ask you to bear with us while we work through these backlogs.
Please be assured that you will suffer no detriment for the allocation being delayed, everything will be allocated to your account as you requested.
Thank you.

 

Hi SingSling Singer,
I am afraid our processing times change constantly in line with the volume of work received and how our staff are deployed. 
We are trying to prioritise the allocation of all payments.
If you have had confirmation that we have received your payment, it will be allocated as soon as we are able to.
Thank you. 

 

I have paid two years voluntary contributions in February 2025. I rang the helpline to check they have been received - and they have. When are they applied to my pension? The person I spoke to seemed very unsure who I needed to speak to!

Hi Christine Mellors,
If you are within 6 months of state pension age please contact the NI helpline 0300 200 3500 to have your payment allocated.
We are allocating high volumes of payments at this present time due to the NICs deadline of 05 April 2025 on a daily basis. 
Thank you. 

 

Good afternoon. I paid for 6 years voluntary NICs on the 1st april. I managed to get through to an adviser in HMRC who updated my NI record for the correct 6 years. When I check my NI record it has been updated. If I look at my personel tax record for those years the NI countubition have not yet been recorded. Who do I need to speak to get this record updated asap as I have been on my state pension since DEC 2022 meaning I will have already have been paid at a lower rate for over 2 years. Could anyone advise me if the pension update following voluntary payment of NICs is automatic or do I also have to try and contact the pensions service. I realise the team is extreemely busy but and advice would be much appreciated. Thanks