Voluntary Contributions not appearing in my online record

I had the same problem as most users on this forum - 5 extra years paid for in January 2025 and record not updated, though I had written to specify the years paid for (sent by courier). I am eligible to claim my pension next month, so was getting a bit desperate. Amazingly, I did call the helpline (from abroad) and have now got my record updated, so wanted to share some tips that might help other forum users. If the 'bot'/voice recognition software freaks you out, another (calmer) person can initiate the call - they will be asked if they are calling for themselves - say 'no' and then 'some other person' at the prompts. You can then take over when you are put on hold for an agent. I had to wait 38 minutes on hold (we were told average time to wait was 50 minutes) If you are calling from abroad, ask to be put through to the overseas department: only the (wonderful) agent in this department was prepared to help me: the first agent I spoke to denied that the record could be updated via a call to the helpline, though I cited the advice given to users on this forum and a friend who had got her record updated this way. The helpful agent could not update my record during the call, but promised to do it the same day. He also took my phone no. in case he had any further questions. Two days later my record is up to date. Finally, if you are paying for current/future years by direct debit and have made a one-off payment for extra years, make sure that your direct debits are not disrupted - this happened to me twice, despite writing in advance to HMRC to ask them not to do this.

I am living and working abroad. I have been my voluntary national contributions for years without any issues. But, last year’s payment 2023-24 whivh was paid in May of last year is still not showing online. I have phoned HMRC two times already, and they still can’t find it. What can I do about this problem????

I paid 10 years of contributions in January this year and my bank record showed the money has been taken from my account within three weeks. But my online record does not show up the contributions then I called the helpline on 7 March 25 and was able to get through after 1 hour of wait. The helper promised to update the record there and then but after over a week, the record still hasn’t been updated. Shall I wait or call again (wait another hour) assuming the last helper’s promise was a empty one!

This afternoon I waited 46 minutes to talk to someone. Ian asked for my details, which I gave, I was then cut off. I tried ringing again, was again cut off - this time by the robot voice. I am trying to find out where my top-uo payment, made August 2024, has disappeared to? Thank you.

Hi Mark68,
If you have not been instructed to do so or haven't already, please reach out to the bank from which you made the payment.
Request confirmation of the destination details and any reference number you used for the transaction.
Once you have this information and are sure it was sent to HMRC, feel free to either write to us or give us a call with the details.
We can then pass this information to our banking team to help locate your payment.
If you choose to call, please also provide the details of the bank account you used for the payment to the adviser you speak to.
You can contact us here: 
National Insurance: general enquiries
Or send us a letter here:
PT operation North East England
HM Revenue and Customs 
BX9 1AN
When submitting a letter, be sure to include your National Insurance Number, your complete name, and your full address, along with a brief explanation of the purpose of your correspondence.
Remember to sign and date the letter, even if it’s typed and printed.

 

Hi Raymond,
We are experiencing a high volume of queries re voluntary contributions, and without any NINO etc I can’t check this particular case.
If the telephony agent said on 7 March that the contributions would be posted then they would have done so unless they hit a technical problem.
National Insurance: general enquiries
If the contributions are not showing in  your PTA by now then unfortunately please contact the helpline again to discuss.  
With payments already made the actual date of payment is used so customers do not lose out any upgrade of pensions etc.

 

Hi jrsharp
We cannot check individual National insurance recocords on the Forum.
We  would suggest trying webchat advisor to discuss rather than trying telephone first, but sadly it will need a contact with an advisor to check the customer account.
Contact us here:
National Insurance: general enquiries

Hi HMRC, It is now more than 41 weeks since I made a bank transfer to cover 18 years of class 2 (and some class 3) contributions, and despite 2 letters and a call to your helpline in January, my record has still not been updated. Can I expect my record to be updated quicker than the 65 weeks mentioned in one post I read ? Many thanks

Hi, In late December 2024 I paid just over 3,000GBP to fill all the gaps in my National Insurance Record. I also elected to pay annually moving forward. The amount in December was paid in one lump sum using the requested reference number. To date I have received no acknowledgement of payment and the gaps are still showing in my record. I am in Australia and have been unable to make contact with anyone either via live chat or phone. The online checking tool mentioned in previous replies is unhelpful and does not reference Class 2 contributions paid online. Please can you tell me if what I have done so far is sufficient for the funds to be allocated and what is the expected timeframe to receive an acknowledgement of payment and allocation of funds. As others have stated, it is very concerning to have blindly paid a significant amount of money and to not receive any acknowledgement whatsoever. I appreciate there is a backlog, and it will take time to process the allocation of the funds, however a simple email confirming payment received would alleviate a lot of stress for a lot of people. Thank you, Kate

Hi Jonathan Coombs,
Apologies for the delay in allocating your payment.
If at any point you fall within 6 month of your State Pension age or you are already state pension age and your payment has still not been allocated, please contact the National Insurance department on 0300 200 3500 or +44 191 203 7010 if calling from outside the UK. This is the only exception we can consider in escalating an allocation. 
Thank you.

Hi Kate Davies,
Apologies for the delay in allocating your payment.
Our systems do not currently issue automatic confirmations of payments received and they only confirmation you can receive is direct by contacting National Insurance. 
Due to the high volume of customers trying to make voluntary contributions for periods abroad, it currently could take up to 67 weeks for our caseworkers to allocate your payment.
If at any point you fall within 6 month of your State Pension age or you are already state pension age, and your payment has still not been allocated, please contact the National Insurance department on 0300 200 3500 or +44 191 203 7010 if calling from outside the UK. This is the only exception we can consider in escalating an allocation. 
You can use the webchat function ‘ask HMRC online’  Ask HMRC online
You can also write in to:
PT Operations North East England
HM Revenue and Customs
BX9 1AN
When submitting your correspondence, kindly provide your National Insurance Number, full name, current address, a contact telephone number, and a brief explanation of the purpose of your letter.
Additionally, please remember to sign and date the document, even if it is printed.
Thank you.

Could you please give some indication on what's month/year you are currently working through on your backlog.
I paid a Class 2 top up in October 2024 from abroad, receipt acknowledgement verbally on phone.
Nothing has been allocated as of yet.

Why has the Webpages been changed a day early ? The NI gap payments are supposed to be available up to the end of the 5th April 25, but you have changed the pages now preventing any back payments further than 6 years ago ? Not happy.

I wanted to advise @GW63 that I paid Class 2 contributions on Sept20, 2024 from abroad, payment was received on Sept23 and receipt acknowledgement verbally on phone a few days later. My record has just been updated in the last couple of days. So hopefully your update won't take too much longer. As a separate issue for me, my record is showing incorrectly online as having 11 years "year is not full". I called and was told the in-house system shows me as fully paid from 2006-2007 onwards - which is what I expected / have indeed paid. They are sending me a letter to confirm that's the case and that whatever I'm seeing online is inaccurate. That discrepancy is annoying but I'm reassured that I'll have a letter in 4-6 weeks with the correct information. In case anyone else needs to do so, calling the overseas line (+44 191 2037010) has involved some wait time, once or twice the line was dropped for no apparent reason, but persistence and patience have always gotten me through to someone. Just wanted to reassure you and others that it's overburdened and prone to some issue but I do feel the system is broadly working. Do be aware of your phone bill if you're calling long distance though as my sister ended up with a massive phone bill having called twice from the USA and been on hold for long periods both times - ugh! It might be worth it to put a calling plan of some sort in place or request use of a phone of someone who does have a suitable plan. Or maybe you can use WhatsApp or FaceTime for a voice call - not sure as I haven't needed those myself, just an idea.

Hi Eoinkef
Please use the following link to check when you can receive a reply from HMRC for your individual circumstance.
Check when you can expect a reply from HMRC
You can then check the allocation of the national insurance payment and full years through the following if you have set up either: 
• your personal tax account 
• the official HMRC app
Thanks
 

Hi GW63
If you would like to pay voluntary National Insurance contributions then please call our National Insurance Helpline on 0300 200 3500 and explain about the problems that you have experienced with our website when trying to make payment. 
Full contact details at: National Insurance: general enquiries 
They will be able to help you further.
Please see guidance at: Voluntary National Insurance: How and when to pay
You can also find out about details of your National Insurance at: 
• your personal tax account 
• the official HMRC app 
Thank you.
 

Hi, I've gone through the NIC shortfall process and sent a wire transfer for 12 years contributions in Mid march to bridge NIC Shortfall in order to get a full state pension. I needed 12 qualifying years to reach maximum pension of 35 years as detailed in my HRMC letter following CF83 submission. The money was sent by Wire Transfer from Canada, I think its been received, but no confirmation. However, it shows on my Tax Year 2024-2025 when I look at my NI record, that ive made a full year contribution of 52 weeks. I did follow up and sent in a covering letter with a completed IP117 form, which detailed the 12 years I had selected to make up the shortfall (and a copy of bank wire transfer), but again, have not received any confirmation of receipt of this letter or form. I sent this form to HRMC, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE98 1ZZ. Tried to call numerous times but cannot get through to clarify the status of the above. Any help or guidance or information is much appreciated - Ive tried to be very diligent in following the process. Thank you,

Hi LFCYVI,
If you could call our National Insurance Helpline on 0300 200 3500 (from the UK) or +44 191 203 7010 (from overseas) then they will make sure that we have received
your payment and arrange for allocation to your National Insurance account.  
Sorry for the delay in allocating your payment.
Thank you.

I made a payment on 7/11/2024 in respect of voluntary class 3 contributions for year 2023-2024. The process and payment was made seamlessly through my HMRC Personal Tax account with payment taken electronically via HMRCs open banking partner Ecospend. No manual intervention of any sort was required and I got website and email confirmations that payment had been made. I also sent a letter by tracked mail to HMRC advising payment had been made. As the email advised the payment would show in my account in 3/5 days I rang HMRC and was advised that they could see the payment but couldn’t allocate it but this would happen in due course. Nearly 3 months later I was therefore shocked to receive a letter in response to my advisory letter that the payment could not be traced and to send my Bank details despite the fact I had used HMRCs online payment partner. I therefore rang HMRC who couldn’t see the payment at all and advised that I write again which I did by tracked mail towards the end of February attaching supporting documentation and proof of payment. I checked my account again today and nothing has been updated. I am now concerned there is a glitch in the system as I have done absolutely nothing wrong here. The whole matter is leaving me very stressed given the amount of money involved. Can anyone give any advice please?

Hello.
Having received my "gaps" letter from HMRC last year, I decided I only wanted to pay some of the class 2 contributions from abroad, so I sent three payments from February-March this year.
Understandably, this is very recent and I know it will take time for the payments to be allocated.
I am certain I used the right reference number etc.
However, I have now realised that HMRC won't know what years I wanted to pay for (my intention was to pay for all the "cheaper" years only!) so what should I do.
The deadline has passed but all my payments were sent prior to 31st March (so will have been received by 5th April).
I've read through the other replies so I'm thinking I should maybe follow up with a letter to HMRC (or phone but I'm overseas right now so not as easy to do that).
I checked my national insurance record yesterday and it said for 24/25, I have a full 52 weeks of NI from self employment and that makes me think they have applied all of my payment to that year when that was not my intention at all.
Please advise.
Thank you!