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Dear Becky,
I lived overseas from 1997 to 2017 so did not pay national insurance. Last year I learned I could back-pay 10 years’ worth voluntarily.
I did the calculations and was told I was eligible, but when I rang the NI helpline I was told I could not be given a reference number to transfer the money, and would have to complete a CF83 form.
I was also told it would take 25 weeks to process.
I posted the form on March 19, 2023 and have had no response. I don’t know who to contact. What do I do now?
Anon
Dear reader,
You’ve had a frustrating, but sadly not unusual, delay.
The Government extended the deadline for paying voluntary NI contributions for the period from April 6, 2006 to April 5, 2018 to 5 April 2025. The main reason for this extension is the extreme volume of requests from people wishing to make these payments, and the Government’s difficulty in dealing with it.
Paying voluntary contributions can be a worthwhile thing to do, as it means you could get a higher state pension, and often you don’t have to wait long for the “investment” to pay off.
People who have lived and worked abroad are particularly likely to want to do this at some point.
The overseas process to pay voluntarily is separate from the UK process. The CF83 form you refer to is the form for people who lived or live overseas to fill out before they can pay voluntary contributions.
Crucially, HM Revenue and Customs accepts the date it receives the CF83 form as the date of contact.
Based on the date you sent the form, according to the HMRC website, you should have received a reply by around November 12, 2023 or very soon after.
However, the timescales do keep changing and the delay is now expected to be around 11 months after the form has been received, which would mean you might expect to hear in February (unless it changes again).
My first concern is that HMRC may not have received your posted form.
The tax office launched an app in November and one of its features is to enable people to track any communication with HMRC. You will need a Government Gateway user ID and password, but it may be worth doing this.
You can also call HMRC directly, but I understand that can be a frustrating experience, especially in January when it’s tax return deadline month. There’s also a webchat function available through your online personal tax account, which could be less time-consuming.
In a recent reply to a very similar query on the HMRC Community forum, HMRC said that it is not penalising anyone because of the length of time it takes the International Teams to reply to CF83 applications.
It added that CF83 application forms received close to April 5, 2025 will be given an extended time of eight weeks to forward any payment of voluntary national insurance contributions.
The main number for queries is 0300 200 3500 and the Overseas query line is +44 19 1203 7010. Lines are open Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, closed on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays.
‘Will HMRC delays mean I’ll miss the deadline to increase my state pension?’
Pensions Doctor: our reader has been waiting for the taxman to respond for nearly a year