RetireJapan

@kuma That's great info. Thank you for your thoughts and guidance! I really appreciate you taking the time to consider my case in particular
I definitely will put together a lengthy cover letter with the points you mentioned. Like you said, Class 2 is too good of a deal to not try.

In my experience, you’ll also need to badger HMRC constantly if you want to get anywhere. Certainly easier if you can check progress online via their website. In my case, I didn’t have the necessary docs to prove ID to allow that (Besides passport, the others docs are ones you wouldn’t necessarily have if you’ve lived outside the UK for a while. Rather odd then they don’t accept other forms of ID.) My only recourse has been to call them….a lot. Make sure you confirm if they’ve allocated back payments and that they’ve done so for the correct years, as this isn’t always done automatically. I’d also suggest asking for written confirmation and receipt of payment. They’ll provide this, but only if you ask for it. If/when calling, be sure to catch them at 8am when they first open for business. Even then you’ll need to sit through about 4mins of monologue/messages that won’t apply to you, before you can reach a human. Leave it much later than 8am and you could be waiting considerably longer! Once you get through, the staff are generally helpful and informative. They seem to be dealing with a lot though, so can make mistakes. Patience and avoiding losing your cool (and your mind) is required. Stick with it though and you should be fine. Good luck and may the force be with you!

@JimmyK Thanks! I mailed the follow-up application today. They took many months to respond to my original application but as the deadline is April, I will give them a call if I don't hear anything by end of Feb. Cheers!

A reminder that there aren’t many weeks left if you are planning to do this.

The deadline has been extended to the end of July

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/taxp ... tributions

Gareth wrote: ↑Tue Mar 07, 2023 10:58 pm The deadline has been extended to the end of July

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/taxp ... tributions

Great write up on this on Moneysavingexpert:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/ ... nded-july/

kuma wrote: ↑Tue Mar 07, 2023 11:08 pm

Gareth wrote: ↑Tue Mar 07, 2023 10:58 pm The deadline has been extended to the end of July

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/taxp ... tributions

Great write up on this on Moneysavingexpert:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/ ... nded-july/

Wiki (https://retirewiki.jp/wiki/United_Kingd ... rom_abroad) now updated to include both those links:

Ordinarily, back payments are limited to six years. However, until 31st July 2023 it is possible to pay voluntary contributions to make up for gaps between April 2006 and April 2016 if you’re eligible[5]. This unique opportunity to back-pay up to 16 years has arisen because of transitional arrangements surrounding the introduction of the new State Pension in 2016. This gov.uk press release, and in particular, this MoneySavingExpert article provide further details about the extension of the deadline (from 5th April 2023 to 31st July 2023; announced on 7th March 2023).

That's a quick fix, and over time will incorporate other info, such as:

The process of filling gaps involves calling The Future Pension Centre if you're below state pension age or the Pension Service if you're already at state pension age, and then HMRC to get a unique 18-digit reference number.

Without accessing support from these official channels it is not possible to confirm which "incomplete" years are worth filling or to make your payment with your reference number.

The extension means thousands of people who were unable to access these official helplines are now able to wait until they successfully get through to confirm whether a payment will indeed boost their state pension and by how much.

Here's hoping that multiple forum members can navigate the fun and games with HMRC and get their payments set up.

Keep questions/updates/experiences/success stories rolling in!

Wiki now further edited, with revised subsections to clear some of the clutter from the overview.
https://retirewiki.jp/wiki/United_Kingd ... te_Pension

Apols for the red herring in previous message regarding the 18-digit reference number (quoted from MoneySavingExpert). NOT needed for overseas contributors. See https://retirewiki.jp/wiki/United_Kingd ... g_payments

Gareth wrote: ↑Tue Mar 07, 2023 10:58 pm The deadline has been extended to the end of July

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/taxp ... tributions

Thanks for sharing this! Just FYI, the UK pension site is still telling me I only have until April to pay, but I'm guessing the system just hasn't been updated yet.

What I'm not clear about, is that if they have received my application, but don't process it by the July deadline, they won't let me pay when they eventually evaluate it? Often on this kind of situation, once you're in, so to speak, they will process it and consider you to have applied by the deadline. But it sounds like people on this thread are saying that even if they take months to evaluate your claim, and as a result it overruns the deadline, you've lost. Is that right?

Also, related to that, I sent mine from Japan by EMS to track it and get the arrival date registered. If the deadline is for receipt of my application, do you think proof of safe arrival will help?

And again, anyone have any idea what the situation is like with post being held up by strikes? I understood that parcels get priority over ordinary letters, which was another reason I sent it registered.
Anyone have any experiences to share on this?