How to Pay Voluntary National Insurance Contributions from Abroad

Hi. I currently live and have lived in Canada for 22 years. I filled in form CF83 and got a letter today ( one month after filling CF83 online ) saying I can buy back 18 years of National Insurance contributions class 2. However on the “shortfall table” in the letter it says the final time limit to buy back is 5 April 2025. I thought that because of the huge interest in doing this, the phone lines are clogged, that as long as you registered your intent to buy back years, you could actually make the payment AFTER the 5th April 2025 deadline. The letter says “we cannot accept your payment if we received it after the final time limit shown in the tables” which is 5th April 2025. Is this correct ? I am going to go to my bank here in Canada tomorrow and instruct them to make a payment to the following bank account…. Can you confirm that this is correct? IBAN : GB49 BARC 2020 4830 9447 93 BIC : BARCGB22 ACCOUNT NAME : HMRC NIC Receipts Reference: my national insurance number followed by “IC” my surname and initial. Thank Angie

Hi,
We can confirm that any payments of voluntary National Insurance contributions that you may wish to make should be received by 5 April 2025.
Our bank details when using an overseas bank are as you have detailed.
Thank you.
 

Hi Brendan Leane,
Since you have completed the DWP call back request form this counts as registering your interest in paying Class 3 Voluntary contributions.
Since you have registered your interest, you will be able to pay the voluntary contributions after the deadline date 5 April 2025.
Thank you.

Hi, I now live in Australia but worked in the UK between October 2010 to June 2013 (approx 2 years 8 months) and paid NI during this time. I've read that to be eligible to pay voluntary National Insurance (NI) contributions while living abroad, you typically need to have either:​ - Previously lived in the UK for a continuous period of 3 years - Paid at least 3 years of National Insurance contributions Is this 3 full years or can be part years over 3 calendar years? Would I be eligible to pay voluntary National Insurance contributions to qualify for any UK State Pension?

The 18 digit number is Your NI+IC+surname, to fill 18 characters, if your surname is short of 18 characters, add your first name up to the last 18th figure: eg WE888888BICHILLSIM WE888888BICSMITHRO WE888888BICMERCURY

Hello
Can you please advise why I am not able to pay for Voluntary National Insurance Contributions online if I live abroad?
I can clearly see from the summary which years I have missed and the £ value for each of those years, yet if I declare I live abroad, I am blocked from making an online payment.
I do have a valid UK bank account in the drop down list (which becomes available if I select that I live in the UK), so I would like to know if I can choose this option and pay for 5 missed years right now, rather than risk missing the 5 April 2025 deadline if the "call back" system should not work due to possible over subscription.
thanks frank

Hi Sharon.Khin Khin
Please see guidance at Voluntary National Insurance: Check which National Insurance contributions you can pay.
This confirms that you would have to either:
•    previously lived in the UK for 3 years in a row
•    paid contributions or had Class 2 contributions treated as having been paid for at least 3 years
If you feel that you may qualify then please Contact the Future Pension Centre either by phone or using the call back request form before the 5 April deadline.
Thank you
 

Hi Simon Hill
Full guidance is available at:
Pay voluntary Class 2 National Insurance contributions if you do not pay through Self Assessment: Make an online or telephone bank transfer
To pay from abroad you must use an 18 digit reference number.
This should be made up of: 
      o    National Insurance Number, 
      o    followed by ‘IC’ then your surname and 
      o    initial if possible 
Thank you
 

Hi Ian Haylor
Yes you can pay from a UK bank account if you hold sufficient funds.
Full guidance is available at:
Pay voluntary Class 2 National Insurance contributions if you do not pay through Self Assessment: Make an online or telephone bank transfer
Please ensure you use the 18 digit reference number so that payments can be allocated accordingly.
The payment should be received and cleared by the 5 April 2025.
Thank you
 

Hello, I am a French national. I have lived and worked in the UK for 12 years (2011 to 2003), and have 12 full years of NI contribution. I'm now back in France with no intention to come back to the UK. I am now paying French NI contributions and will continue to do so until I retire. My question: should I make voluntary NI contributions in the UK every year until I have paid for a 35 years total, on top of the French NI contributions I am already making? I can't figure out if making NI contributions both in France and in the UK at the same time will: a) Mean that when I retire, both countries will look at years I contributed on both sides and simply pay me the difference (so for (a very simplified) example, if what I should earn from paying NI solely in France for a year is £100 and what I should earn in solely paying in the UK is £110, I'll get paid £100 from france + £10 to make sure I get the full £110). b) OR Mean that when I retire, France will pay me my pension for all the years I contributed there, and the UK will pay me the full state pension on top of that? If a) is true, then continuing paying UK national contributions each year is useless, as I am already paying towards French pension. In that case paying the remaining £900-ish x 23 = £20700 is wasted money. However if b) is true, then continuing to pay for the UK state pension on top of the French one makes a lot of sense, as I would get my full French state pension + those £20700 will allow me to get my full UK pension of £11541 on top. I keep reading about cases where someone pays in one country and then in another, but I can't find a concrete example or a rule explaining what happens if I pay in the two countries at the same time! I've looked everywhere to try and find an answer without being able to figure this out, so hoping you can help me understand! Many thanks.

Hi lauraaaage
Unfortunately this forum cannot answer your detailed question.
We would ask that you review: Social Security abroad: NI38
Guidance in relation to paying previous years National Insurance Contributions is covered at: Voluntary National Insurance: How and when to pay
To ensure that the deadline for previous years is met you must complete the call back request form by the 05 April 2025.
In your circumstances you should also use the contact options at: 
International Pension Centre
Thank you.
 

I filled out a cf83 a few years ago, I eventually got a summary of what I could pay to catch up on years, As I have been self-employed in france auto entrepreneur over 14 years, I quired this as it was listed I could only pay a few class 2, I received an updated version after downloading proof of self-employed work, I payed these years listed in early March and sent reference to this, but after paying this amount there was still about seven recent years that were not listed as class2, I resent a email to the recon team listing these years and re copying the proof of self-employed work in france this was start of March, I rent email two weeks later as I wanted to pay these years before deadline, but no reply so far, I have not been able to reach anyone on phone, I did register for a call back on your site, but not sure by the time you reply to my query of these seven years I will be allowed to pay them

Hi Completed a CF83 online on the 14th Feb 2025 . I see that it is marked completed .
When can I expect to receive details in the mail from you with details of vol contributions.
Many thanks Melanie

I sent a payment to top up my national insurance record on the 25 February 2025 following my application by CF83 (letter of confirmation received with the years applicable in November 2024). However, my record states that the 11 years concerned are still not full. How long will it take for my record to be updated ? I have proof of payment from my bank. Many thanks.

I applied to buy back years before the April 5th deadline over the phone. They assured me the request would go through. At that time I also asked to include whether I could buy back at the Class 2 rate. I grew up in the UK, was working right before I left for the US, and have three full years paid in, two before I left and one after I moved back in 2022. I am now past pension age, but am still working (not paying in since I'm past the age). I paid social security all my years in the US, where I was working, and have the statement that shows that. As far as you can tell from this 1) Am I likely to be eligible for Class 2 2) Will I find that out when I get the reply to my enquiry about buying back years or 3) Is there something else I should do now? And can you reassure me that my request for Class 2 will be covered by my overall request already sent in? Nobody mentioned any form to fill in or anything. Thank you very much for any assistance.

Hi manalive,
I am afraid our processing times change constantly in line with the volume of work received and how our staff are deployed. 
We are trying to prioritise the allocation of all payments.
If you have had confirmation that we have received your payment, it will be allocated as soon as we are able to.
Thank you.

Hi Nigel vellam Vellam
Unfortunately, this forum has no access to your tax and National Insurance records so we are unable to give a definitive reply. 
As you have made a callback request this will be made within the next 8 weeks
Alternatively you can contact us so we can check your National Insurance record:  
Phoning from abroad should continue to use the contact options at: 
International Pension Centre
NI helpline  0300 200 3500. 
Overseas NI Helpline +44 191 203 7010 
Open Monday to Friday: 8am to 6pm
Closed on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays
Or by post:
HM Revenue and Customs
National Insurance Contributions and Employer Office
BX9 1AN
Thank you.
 

I have received a reply CF83 providing details of payments
I can make at class 2 (received letter 27th March) payment date 05.04.2025
I then requested a call back, on the 27th March DWP and also sent a letter (from Spain)
I am now waiting for the call back from pensions, to confirm pension will increase etc.
Can you please confirm what I need to do after I receive the call back?

Hi Thompson737
Once your CF83 is marked as completed it should arrive within 10 working days if delivered to UK address or within 4 weeks if delivered to overseas address.
As it would appear that your form is out with this period please use the contact options at: 
International Pension Centre
Thank you.
 

Hi Sharon 2 
The reply you received provided the date when payments had to be made by to increase your state pension and full paid years contributions that would then apply.
Everyone who submitted the callback form can be assured that DWP will call them back and any payments they subsequently choose to make will be treated as having been made within deadline.
There is no further need to contact DWP or HMRC. 
DWP will contact people who filled in the DWP callback form, prioritising those at or nearing State Pension Age. 
You can also check the progress of your correspondence once submitted through: 
•    Check when you can expect a reply from HMRC or 
•    your personal tax account or
•    the official HMRC app
Thank you.