Will I lose out on UK pension because I didn’t live there for three consecutive years?

I spent some time in the UK both pre going to university for a stint and then later during university (with a part-time job) and for a year or so postgraduation. I’ve completed the CF83 and received a statement which confirms that I have five qualifying years of national insurance contributions.

However, when I looked at the form to apply for paying gaps, one of the requirements was that you had to live in UK for three continuous years which unfortunately I did not. There was a gap between my first time working in UK and later when I worked during / after university.

I’m sure there are lots of folks in a similar position where they may have sufficient qualifying years’ contributions but can’t meet the requirements around living in UK for three years continuously. Is there any chance you could give some advise on this scenario?

Mr EH

I think damp on the wall inside my home is coming from my neighbour’s property. What should I do?

One in three Irish parents saving for their children, not themselves

Will I lose out on UK pension because I didn’t live there for three consecutive years?

There has been a lot of confusion around this, not helped by the fact that the British authorities got it wrong themselves initially in the advice they gave out to people inquiring into eligibility for the scheme.

[ If you worked in the UK there is an opportunity to boost your pensionOpens in new window ]

You will qualify for purchase of the voluntary national insurance contributions. The rules state that you must previously have EITHER lived in the UK for three years in a row or paid contributions (or had Class 2 contributions treated as having been paid) for at least three years. As you have five years on your record, you clearly qualify on the second of those conditions even though you do not meet the first option.

His Majesty’s Revenue Commissioners (HMRC) has conceded that the guidance it was giving between November 2017 and April 2019 was incorrect when it said you had to meet both of those conditions. You only need to meet one or the other.

Now, to pay for your voluntary contributions at the cheaper Class 2 rate of £3.45 a week, you will have to have been working until you left the UK and worked when you moved home or to some other country. Otherwise, you will be charged Class 3 at £17.45 a week.

The big thing is to get that form in to them over the next 11 days or you could miss the deadline.

[ UK state pension deadline softened amid last minute rushOpens in new window ]

At a bare minimum, complete the online form requesting a call back on the issue – which can be found here. The UK authorities have accepted that anyone filing that form before the deadline gets in the door in terms of eligibility.

Finally, several readers have been in touch about a reader’s confusion last week on how his record credits him with nine years’ contributions when he only lived there for five.

The UK system apparently grants three years' credits to cover student working back when students were not charged national insurance on holiday or part-time work.

The remaining year is almost certainly down to the April 6th-April 5th tax year that operates in the UK, which means you could get six years credits even though you were only there for five calendar years.

How far back can I pay national insurance?

I was born in the UK in 1969 and came to Ireland in 1973. My father then worked in the UK and paid national insurance. I myself then worked in the UK from 2013 to 2016 and I bought credits right up to 2023/24 and if I continue to contribute annually my pension will be £148 per week at retirement as I now have a record of full years from 2013/14 to 2023/24 per the Gov.UK website.

The question is whether I can buy credits from 2006 to 2013. I asked Chat GPT, and it seems to indicate there is a slim possibility.

Mr DC

Well, there’s a first – I haven’t gone head-to-head with generative AI before.

The fact that you were born in the UK should not matter. Nor will your father’s national insurance record. What does matter is your national insurance number and this is something you only get when you start working in the UK or are eligible to work.

And, unlike in Ireland where everyone now gets a PPS once their birth is registered, you need to actively apply for a national insurance number.

In your case, that would have been in 2013, so, technically, you should not be able to purchase national insurance stamps for any date before then.

That would leave you the option of purchasing any outstanding weeks in 2016 and the years subsequently, which you have done. And, as you say, you can continue to pay voluntary national insurance contributions between now and the time you hit 66 to boost that UK pension.

[ What will it cost me to buy back UK national insurance?Opens in new window ]

Having said all that, John Ring of Galway-based Xtrapenison, which has been focusing on this UK voluntary national insurance scheme, says that he has seen cases like yours where the UK authorities have granted the right to buy years before you ever had national insurance at the Class 3 rate. In some cases, bizarrely, he says the cheaper Class 2 rate has been granted but he says whether you would be allowed do that at all would very much be down to pot luck – which case worker you have on your file.

So the answer is that you should not be allowed to buy back years before you first had a national insurance number but it is worth trying your luck. It might pay off and, if it doesn’t, you are no worse off.

Please send your queries to Dominic Coyle, Q&A, The Irish Times, 24-28 Tara Street Dublin 2, or by email to dominic.coyle@irishtimes.com with a contact phone number. This column is a reader service and is not intended to replace professional advice