Voluntary National Insurance contributions if you live abroad :Cross Stitch – Money, tax and benefits
Provided certain conditions are met you can continue paying UK National Insurance contributions voluntarily when you are abroad. Voluntary contributions will count towards your State Pension, and protect certain state benefits and allowances if you return to the UK.
If you want to pay voluntary National Insurance contributions while abroad, either of the following conditions must apply:
- you must have lived in the UK for a continuous three-year period at any time before making your payments
- before you went abroad, you paid National Insurance contributions for three years or more
There are other criteria you will need to meet, depending on the class of contribution you want to pay. These are covered in the section ‘What class of contribution to pay’ below.
If you move abroad, continuing to pay UK National Insurance contributions may help keep your entitlement to:
- certain state benefits in the European Economic Area (EEA) and some reciprocal agreement countries – find out which countries apply by following the first link below
- certain state benefits and allowances when you return to the UK
- a full State Pension
You can find out which UK state benefits depend on National Insurance contributions by following the second link below.
Going abroad – even for less than a tax year – can create gaps in your National Insurance contributions record. This may reduce the number of years that count towards your full State Pension and restrict certain state benefits when you return to the UK.
Providing you qualify to make voluntary contributions while abroad, you can normally make up any shortfall in your National Insurance contributions record for the previous six tax years. If you are abroad or have been abroad and want to find out whether you have a shortfall, contact the National Insurance Contributions Office – International Caseworker.
Provided the earlier conditions are met you can pay voluntary Class 2 National Insurance contributions if you are employed or self-employed abroad (but not if you are employed and already paying Class 1 contributions).
In order to pay voluntary Class 2 contributions you must either have been:
- ‘ordinarily’ employed or self-employed immediately before you went abroad
- ‘ordinarily’ employed or self-employed but became unemployed immediately before you went abroad to work (‘unemployed’ means registered as unemployed with the Department for Work and Pensions and looking for work)
Class 2 contributions have the following benefits:
- they count towards your State Pension when you retire
- they entitle you to the Employment and Support Allowance (previously known as Incapacity Benefit) and bereavement benefits when you return to the UK
If you want to check whether you satisfy the conditions for paying voluntary Class 2 National Insurance contributions, contact the National Insurance Contributions Office – International Caseworker.
Provided the earlier conditions are met you can pay voluntary Class 3 National Insurance contributions when abroad if you are not employed or not entitled to make Class 2 payments. You can also pay Class 3 contributions if you have not paid enough Class 1 or Class 2 contributions in the tax year to make it count towards your State Pension or other state benefits.
Class 3 National Insurance contributions have fewer benefits than Class 2 contributions. For example, they protect your spouse’s right to bereavement benefits, but they don’t entitle you to the Employment and Support Allowance when you return to the UK.
You can find out how to apply for and pay your National Insurance contributions in the following sections.