British expats have until April 5 to claim backdated voluntary National Insurance contributions. (Image: Getty)
could be missing out on thousands for their pension pot by not claiming voluntary (NI) by April 5.
They may have gaps in their NI records after years of working abroad, which
However, they now have the opportunity to backdate missing NI contributions as far back as 2006, “potentially boosting their pension income for life”, an expert said.
Fiona Peake, personal finance expert at , told that British expats could be missing out on a whopping £39,360 over the course of their retirement.
She explained: “The is based on how many qualifying years of NI contributions you have.
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The backdated claims could potentially boost expats’ pensions for life. (Image: Getty)
“Expats need at least 10 years to get anything at all, and 35 years to receive the full new , which is currently £221.20 per week – £11,502 a year. Each missing year could cost them around £328 per year in lost pension income.
“Expats can buy back missing years at the current voluntary Class 2 or Class 3 NI rates – £3.45 or £17.45 per week, respectively. That means one full year of Class 3 contributions costs £907.40, but it adds £328 per year to their pension.
“In just under three years of retirement, they’d already be in profit. For someone with six missing years, they’d pay £5,444 to fill the gap.
“But this would add around £1,968 a year to their pension. After just three years of claiming, they’d have more than made their money back, and over a 20-year retirement,
[REPORT]
This comes after a petition was launched demanding the Government increase the weekly to £549 for everyone aged over 60, including British expats.
The move would align the with the equivalent of 48 hours of work each week at the National Living Wage of £11.44 an hour, totalling £28,554.24 a year.
It would also include roughly 453,000 retirees abroad who suffer from a static due to their country not having a reciprocal deal with the UK.