How do I fill gaps in my Class 4 NICs?

[Partyvan]

Hi all

I have a few gaps in my class 4 NIC contributions.

Roughly 4, 7, 11 and 13 years ago.

Can I fill them in to ensure I get the state pension? Can I ring up HMRC and pay?

Cheers

[Countdown]

I thought it was Class 2 that you needed to have fully paid?

[Partyvan]

I'm self employed so I pay Class 4

I could be mistaken though, I haven't a clue what im doing

[Countdown]

Partyvan said:

I'm self employed so I pay Class 4

I could be mistaken though, I haven't a clue what im doing

Self employed pay both Class 2 and Class 4. IIRC Class 2 is about £3 a week flat rate if you earn above £6k, Class 4 is 9% of profits above £8632.

Link below seems to suggest it's Class 2 that you need to have paid in full in order to get a full state pension.

https://taxaid.org.uk/guides/information/an-introd...

[Partyvan]

Thankyou

Anyone know how you fill gaps in class 2?

[Countdown]

Try this

https://www.gov.uk/voluntary-national-insurance-co...

You can only go back 6 years though.

[Partyvan]

All done, thankyou!

After a quick call to HMRC I was able to pay off right back to 2006-2007 tax year

[Mr Pointy]

Partyvan said:

All done, thankyou!

After a quick call to HMRC I was able to pay off right back to 2006-2007 tax year

Did you check that doing so would actually make any difference to your State Pension? When I went through this process anything before 2015-16 wouldn't count, although they would have been happy to take the money.

[Eric Mc]

Class 4, even though it's a lot more than Class 2, counts for nothing. Hammond attempted to replace Class 2 with Class 4 but gave up as the underlying legislation behind the different types of NI is mind boggingly complex. So he gave up.

Class 2 is now paid annually as part of the Self Assessment system. It used to be paid quarterly or monthly.

[hunton69]

Check out class 3 as I thought that filled some gaps in your pension

[markcoznottz]

Mr Pointy said:

Partyvan said:

All done, thankyou!

After a quick call to HMRC I was able to pay off right back to 2006-2007 tax year

Did you check that doing so would actually make any difference to your State Pension? When I went through this process anything before 2015-16 wouldn't count, although they would have been happy to take the money.

What they really mean is they don't know, because it depends on the whims of future civil servants. The only sure way to be absolutely sure is to pay uninterrupted contributions till you retire. Still won't stop them raising the retirement age though.

[Mr Pointy]

markcoznottz said:

Mr Pointy said:

Partyvan said:

All done, thankyou!

After a quick call to HMRC I was able to pay off right back to 2006-2007 tax year

Did you check that doing so would actually make any difference to your State Pension? When I went through this process anything before 2015-16 wouldn't count, although they would have been happy to take the money.

What they really mean is they don't know, because it depends on the whims of future civil servants. The only sure way to be absolutely sure is to pay uninterrupted contributions till you retire. Still won't stop them raising the retirement age though.

I'm not sure what your point is. I was pointing out that HMRC won't necessarily advise on the effect of any contributions to your SP entitlement, they'll just take your money.

[Partyvan]

Sorry for the slow reply.

I'll wait for the HMRC page to update (~6 weeks) and let you know if my stats have changed.

Thanks all.

[droopsnoot]

Eric Mc said:

Class 2 is now paid annually as part of the Self Assessment system. It used to be paid quarterly or monthly.

Slightly O/T, but is/are Class 2 contributions done completely automatically during S/A, or do I need to choose something as I fill in the form on line? I have a letter from when my direct debits were stopped saying it would be taken automatically, but I'm not entirely sure it's happening. I recall a question asking me if I want to make any additional NI contributions, but it wasn't clear whether the basic payment is automatically taken. As I always do this at the last minute, I chose the default option.

I ask because when I check, it says this:



That sort-of answers the question, and suggests that I should contact them to sort it out. However, for the 2017-2018 tax year, it's shown this "we are checking ... you don't need to do anything" text for months and months.

I was intending to phone them up once the busy period around SA deadline had passed, but any insight is appreciated.