Have I paid enough National Insurance?

You can try.

You can also complain that you've paid quite enough income tax and VAT too.

Let us know if you succeed.

ps You can't stop paying NI contributions (assuming you're earning over the lower limit), but you could stop working in 2010 and not affect your pension.

I thought 'irony' was how you got creases out of shirts till I read this group

I gather you don't think I will.

I believe so but can't remember.

Try -

hth

freecycle writes

I retired at 58 after working for 42 years. I signed on for another 18 months or so before I was sure I had the "stamps", even though I was receiving any unemployment benefit due to my company pension.

The rules have changed I think, or maybe that was only for women...

You used to be able to get a pension forecast but a quick look shows its not as easy as it used to be. Still worth a try, grab the form and write. see:

Quick look at my forecast and you need 44 qualifying years for a full pension, so you have 37. Once you get to 60 and are not working they will credit these years up to age 65. You might be a couple of years short. It is possible to pay shortfalls and they should tell you so. get the "understanding..." booklet

This is wrong. 30 years of contributions will very shortly entitle the OP to a full pension.

Recent change though! .. actually DWP have been sending out notices with their requests for voluntary contribs advising people to not make them ..

Usual unhelpful post from Norman.

It is possible - you can contact the Pensions Department and they will tell you exactly - I have found them very helpful.

I think that you need 44 years qualifying for a full pension - but I am not sure.

(You can pay additional contributions to bring it up to the required level. My partner did this and the amount paid as voluntary contributions in two years will be totally recovered in the first two years of pension)

I believe that it is also cheaper to pay self-employed contributions rather than voluntary.

ie if you are short of contributions - register as self-employed - and pay the cheaper contributions.

"judith" wrote

But why would anyone decide to stop working, just because they'd amassed enough NI years? You can't stop paying NI if you're still earning over the relevant (low) limit, even if you have reached the required number of qualifying years!

"judith" wrote

It depends on whether you're male or female and on when you retire...

They might not need the income.

Actually, you can, by moving to a situation of having several part time jobs and earning (just) under the limit from each of them.

Unlike with income tax, the NI threshold applies per employment, though unfortunately not per self-employment.

"Ronald Raygun" wrote

But if they didn't need the income, then they could stop working *before* they'd reached sufficient NI qualifying years!

Why wait *then* stop? [Don't forget, if they "don't need the income", then they wouldn't need the BSP either.]

"Ronald Raygun" wrote

Oh no you can't!

"Ronald Raygun" wrote

In which case, you would NOT be "over the RELEVANT ... limit", so my comment still stands.

"Ronald Raygun" wrote

Of course.

Wrong. It's not possible. If you work, you pay NI.

Wrong. The OP will require 30 years.

Then he's a fool. If he'll have 30 years contributions anyway, he's wasted his money completely.

So, two wrongs and an example of stupidity. How helpful is that?

Usual appalling advice from Judith based on a lack of understanding.

He won't be short of contributions.

Only for those retiring after 2011 (I think)

Not if he paid the money before the proposals to lower the number of years required. No-one in 1999 could have know that they should't make up any shortfall.

tim

They might be paired up with someone. Their joint requirement for income might be completely satisfied if only one of them works, but once that person retires, a second BSP might come in handy.

Oh yes you can!

Not entirely. I think what you had in mind when you wrote "the relevant (low) limit" was £5k or thereabouts. You can avoid NI if you earn well over that amount, because the relevant limit for N contemporaneous part-time employments is N*£5k, but as N approaches infinity that limit is no longer "low".

For present purposes we can consider infinity approached if N exceeds two. :-)

Thats not possible. You are either employed or self employed based on the facts of the engagement, it is not a matter of choice.

It is possible to pursuade some employers to pay you as self employed then they squeal like a stuck pig when HMRC review the circumstances of the engagement and stick the employer with a huge bill for all the tax and NI they should have deducted. Mind you, the worker is no longer imune as Reg 72 E to G now enables HMRC to stick this bill to the worker.