How to pay Class 2 NI contributions as a Examiner/Invigilator

I am retired on a teachers pension, another 6 years to go until state retirement age. I am a few years short of contributions due to time at uni, time abroad and now not working full time. I do some exam invigilating at a local secondary school on a zero hour contract and some GCSE marking which is obviously just for a short period each year. No NI is taken from my earnings. HMRC state people in this type of work are entitled to pay class 2 contribution even if they are PAYE and 'employed'. https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/national-insurance-manual/nim74100 I spoke to someone at HMRC who registered me for self assessment and suggested I would be invited to pay class 2 contributions when I did the self assessment. I have completed the self assessment but at no point was there an opportunity to request to pay I think because I am not actually self employed. Has anyone had experience in this type of area. How should I proceed to get these contributions paid and on my record?

Hi VXmanx,

If you are over UK state pension age (SPA) then you will not be liable for National Insurance contributions.
If you are in receipt of your employed company pension and are under the UK SPA then you should be paying voluntary NICs for any years in which you are deficient.
The following link provides information about gaps on your NI record. Check your National Insurance record
However if you believe you should be registered as self-employed please use this link to complete the online registration. Register for Self Assessment
If you have any concerns or are unable to register online you can call the NI helpline on 0300 2003500 Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm.

Thank you.
 

I'm not yet old enough to receive state pension. I am recieving my teachers pension. I am aware I have gaps in my pension. I am registered for self assessment as advised by NI helpline. This link states that I should be able to pay Class 2 NI contributions due to the type of work I am doing (even though I am employed?) Basically I would like to pay voluntary contributions to fill gaps in my record but pay them at class 2 rates as I am working in the areas stated in the link below. https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/national-insurance-manual/nim74100

Hi,

Please refer to:

Voluntary National Insurance

Thank you.

Hi I am an Exam Invigilator. I am not yet reach pension age. As there is no contract on working hours (seasonal) , May I know for weeks that I earn more than 242 pounds, do I need to contribute NI? under this situation, should I classify myself as class 4 instead of class 1 for this job? If I need to contribute NI, ,should I do it together during my tax return self assessment?

Hi
Please see the following information on our website - Pay Class 2 National Insurance if you do not pay through Self Assessment
As an invigilator you can pay Class 2 NICs voluntarily if you wish.  You will need to check your pension entitlement in your personal tax account to see if it is necessary to pay.

 

Hi, My wife has similar situation to those set out above and it is proving hard to find out how we go about making Class 2 NIC payments that are back-dated to cover the last 6+years she has been an invigilator. Having called the HMRC NIC helpline several weeks ago we were told to re-register for self assessment online (we have been filing self assessments for many years) and that we pick the 'sole trader' option at which point an online form opens (https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/shortforms/form/CWF1ST?dept-name=CWF1&sub-dep). This looks to be right form as there is a box to identify as an Invigilator so we completed this and submitted it. I have been checking if anything has changed via the SA portal (e.g. a extra class 2 NIC payment option opens up) but nothing has appeared thus far and we have not got a response acknowledging the form had been submitted and is being actioned. We have completed the 2023-24 SA tax return but don't want to submit yet as we not sure if we should have volunteered to make Class 2 NIC payments within this return. Do we now have to wait until October 2025 to be sent something from HMRC that requests Class 2 NIC needs to be paid? Surely that will only cover the latest tax year yet we want to make back-dated payments to cover the £179.40 we wish to per year.

Hi Nick,
Thank you for your query
As an invigilator your wife will be a part of the Self-Employment Exception group where Class 2 is voluntary and she does not pay Class 2 through Self-Assessment. How it works when you are an invigilator you are sent yearly Class 2 voluntary bills in the post. The bills are usually issued September/October time during the year. 
If your wife has not yet received her Class 2 bill for 2023/24. Please contact the helpline.
If she also wishes to pay the prior years to 2023/24 at Class 2. She would need to contact the helpline and we would provided bank details and a reference number to make the payment to.
Please find our contact details below: 
Telephone Number: 0300 200 3500
Text Relay: 18001 0300 200 3500 (Text Relay)
Overseas: 44 191 203 7010
Opening hours:
Monday to Friday: 8am to 6pm
Closed on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays.
Web Address: National Insurance: detailed information.
Thank you

I have never been sent a bill. I have rung HMRC many times regarding this matter and get different responses every time as the agents do not seem to understand this way it works. I have been successful eventually but this involved the agent giving my an account number and sort code to pay in to and a specific reference to put in. Even then it didn't appear on my NI record for months. I rang in again and they said they had received the money but hadn't assigned it to my NI record. Eventually it ended up there but it took a long time and many conflicting phone calls. I am not convinced you need to do self assessment or be a sole trader. As an invigilator you are not self employed. I found all the self assessment questions not applicable and you won't have enough income to be classed as self employed. You are entitled to pay it though. It's a lot of hassle but given the cost benefits it is worth it.