IDF

Form CF83 (Application to pay voluntary NICs abroad) has been updated and, in the "Employment" section (3), now includes box 20 that asks "were you receiving child benefit before you left the UK". This would indicate that receipt of child benefit satisfies the employment condition for Class 2 contributions. This is not covered in NI38. Could HMRC please confirm whether, if all other criteria were satisfied, receipt of child benefit before leaving the UK would satisfy the employment condition.

My wife lived and worked in the UK for 5 years and has a "full year" for each of those 5 years in her NI record. We then had two children, she ceased work to care for the children, and she was in receipt of Child Benefit. Some years later while my wife was still in receipt of Child Benefit, the family left the UK for Australia. She then returned to work in Australia. Her NI record has "full" years from: 1) the 5 years she worked in the UK; and 2) via HRP for the 8 years she was in receipt of Child Benefit before we left for Australia. She now wishes to fill the gaps in her NI record when she returned to the work in Australia. Form CF83 is the means of applying for this with guidance from NI38. NI38 states that "you can pay Class 2 NICs if you're employed or self-employed abroad if, immediately before going abroad, you were ordinarily an employed or self employed earner in the UK". She obviously does not meet that condition, but only because she was caring for our children as recognised by receipt of Child Benefit and the award of HRP. Section 3 (Employment) of CF83 seeks to capture employment status before leaving the UK. It includes at Box 20 whether the individual was in receipt of Child Benefit before leaving the UK. Does this mean that receipt of Child Benefit satisfies the "employment" condition for eligibility to pay voluntary NICs via Class 2 NICs?

I have lived in Australia for 20 years but have ensured my NI contributions are up to date ie up to Apr 23. On 6 Apr 24 I received a letter from HMRC stating that for my voluntary Class 2 NI contributions from 09/04/2023 to 06/04/2024 the amount due is £179.40. On 8 Apr 24 I paid by internet banking the sum of £179.40 to the correct sort code and account number plus the correct reference. As for previous contributions, I paid into the account name "HMRC NIC Receipts". However, the HMRC letter stated that the account name was now "GBS Re NICO Receipts HMRC". The sort code, account number and reference had not changed from my previous contributions. My (UK) bank records indicate that my payment on 8 Apr 24 was successfully made into account name "HMRC NIC Receipts". It is now over 14 weeks since I made the payment. But my NI record for 2023-24 still states "Your record for this year is not available yet". I have written to the "National Insurance contributions and Employer Office" at BX9 1AN explaining the above but have not heard back. Is there anything else I should do?