Reclaiming Past Years NI for Expats

[AndyBHastings]

I have been in and out of the UK for the last 15 years, I understand that I can claim back my NI for the last 6 years. But, and here is the problem, I am certain in all the different combinations of Class 1's & 3's I have overpaid on average during this time, how on earth do I quantify this and get into a format where I can claim it back ? & who can I claim it from ?

Any help much appreciated.

[kirstie.williamson@a]

Class 3 are voluntary contributions so cannot be reclaimed.
Class 1 can only be reclaimed if you have overpaid ( eg if you had 2 employments and were paying in each) or if it has been deducted in error - eg if you were already paying social security in another country AND were covered by a form E101( for EU countries) or a certificate of coverage ( for countries where the UK has a bi-lateral agreement on social security such as the US).

Otherwise you cannot reclaim anything but if you have paid sufficient then you may be entitled to a UK state pension on retirement and other benefits.

Get a UK pension forecast from the Dept. of Work & Pensions by using form BR19. Available from their website : dwp.gov.uk


The DWP can also tell you what entitlement to UK benefits you have - eg incapacity benefit etc.

Incidentally why did you pay class 3 if not to preserve these entitlements ?

KW

[AndyBHastings]

KW, Many thanks for this. As far as my records go I have paid a minimum of class 3 contributions for all the time I was away so as to reserve my pension rights on the advice of a colleague in HR. For the time I was paying class 1 I was hoping to be able to reclaim this and have class 3 throughout. My company made the determinations of what was paid when based on the contracts, in fact I have been out of the EU for the entire duration.

[kirstie.williamson@a]

The rules for expats and NIC are quite complex. in fact there are 3 sets of rules depending on whether you are sent to :
a. an EU country
b.a bi-lateral agrement country ( not many of these - US and Japan are the most frequented by expats)
c. none of the above

If you are in Saudi then there is no agreement with the UK and you would have remained liable t UK NIC only for the first 52 weeks of your assignment. After that you and your UK employer are exempt. However if you return to the Uk and are then reassigned a new 52 week period starts.

You may also be liable to contributions in the overseas territory but these would be paid by the company under the equaliasation policy if applicable.

In order to determine whether or not to pay class 3 you should take specific financial advice from an IFA since it is tantamount to pensions advice. Your HR contact should have told you to seek such advice unless he/she is an IFA themselves and regulated by the FSA.

Did they also advise you that generally the maximum you can stay in a UK occupational pension scheme whilst not resident is 10 years? Have the company made any suggestions as to what happens after this time, if applicable to you ? This point may be covered by their overseas assignment policy. If not, you should make a point of asking them, if you are in such a scheme.

KW