Canada pension plan CPP

[bmwmike]

Hi

Wife and I spent 3 years in Canada. Pretty sure I paid into a CPP but she probably did not. I read somewhere I can either claim NI credit for those payments or take the CPP directly at retirement (won't be much I know). Does anyone know if I should speak to HMRC or Canada pensions, and got any experience of this?

Also I lived in republic of Ireland for 5 years paying full tax and social insurances - wondering if I can claim missed UK NI from these too.

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks
Mike