Hi, Got a letter in today with a demand of £600 for a shortfall in my NI contributions from 2011 - 2015 which was 100% my fault. The letter basically said if it was not paid then they would pass it to a debt collector although no date was given as to when it had to be settled. Called HRMC today and spoke to a guy who was great and advised that i could set up a payment plan but had to transfer me to their debt section to arrange this. Got through to a very arrogant [removed] woman who asked for the full amount to be paid today. I explained that due to the time of the year and my tax bill that was due (Not her fault i know) that i didnt have a spare £600 to pay in one. She told me she could take £190 today and the rest would need to be paid by January. Told her that i could pay £100 per month but she said no this is not something that can be paid over that length of time. She then told me to get a small loan or borrow the money. I told her i wouldnt be willing to do this. She then asked me why i had called her if i wasnt willing to make payment. I really had to just put the phone down on her as i didnt like the way i was being spoken to. Anyway, It was my fault and not theirs and I have to pay it. I could pay it all today but that kind of drains me over christmas. So my question is there any way that i could get them to accept a payment plan or do i just give in? Ta

I know this sounds strange, but if to date your NI contributions will give you a full state pension when you retire can you ask to stop your NI contributions up to retirement?

I know contribution based esa in indefinite if your in the support group but how long does it normally take for national insurance credits take to run out so that your'e unlegible and have to claim income related instead? Its happened to me in the past.

I'm on contributions based esa and I've heard that I'm entitled to Income related top ups. Does anyone know what sort of top ups these are?

I'm rapidly approaching retirement age and due to working overseas for a number of years find I'm two years short of contributions in order to claim the full state pension when I do retire. Can I pay the missing two years? If yes to whom? And how? And roughly how much would this cost? I have tried 'Googling' to find out this information and seem to go around in circles!! Any pointers/advice are most welcome.

Hello ladies and gentleman... My mother has a pension of £665 per month and my sister that lives with her earns £16.000 per annum and she has her student loan which is accumulating interest(it is)... The rent is £133 per week and council tax of £73 per month... My mother has £13 per week housing benefit..... So my question is if anyone knows how it is calculated and does the council tax and housing benefit awarded seem correct... A big great thank you if anyone can help..

I have woken up today feeling awful, no energy at all, sore throat, achy and just feeling terrible, can hardly walk around the house. The thing is i'm due to go to a Work Programme appointment on Tuesday and a job fair Thursday and i'm worried because if i'm not better for those things then I won't be able to attend and I'm worried because I know the Work Programme has a habit of sanctioning people, I have only ever been sanctioned once (unfairly) and I won that appeal so technically never had a sanction. Need some advice on this, thank you.

After recent rule changes I was unable to remain as a sole trader self employed LGV driver, I have to become a LTD company. I am an agency driver. So my only other option was to go to an umbrella company and use the PAYE system. I notice on my payslips various deductions from tax, umbrella company margin, holiday pay, NI contribution, bonus?, HMRC NI ERS. It's the last one that troubles me, NI contribution has already been deducted, the HMRC NI ERS I believe refers to the employers NI contribution but it is being taken out of my pay packet directly in addition to my own NI contribution. Am I being fleeced? or is there some technicality that means that I have to pay more than double NI? Many Thanks, Colin.

I am the parent with care. My ex husband worked overseas for a period of two years and the csa could not collect child support payments as he was paid via Jersey and Jersey is not in their jurisdiction. However, he did pay voluntary contributions for child support. I received a phone call from the CSA asking me to confirm that he had paid these voluntary contributions and that he had made an over payment in excess of £8K and he now wants the voluntary contributions back. To say I am flabergasted is an understatement. Surely, if the NRP pays voluntary contributions they are voluntary and the CSA cannot ask for them back. Where do I stand on this.

Hi All I wonder if anyone can help please. I'm on a temp contract and am going to be unemployed soon, so will be signing on, to claim JSA again. I understand we are in the 2014 benefits year, so DWP will look at my contributions for the tax years 2011-2012 & 2012-2013. During 2011-2012 I was credited with 50 Credits from ESA. During 2012-2013 I was credited with 16 Credits from ESA. From my understanding, there are two conditions to be met. The first one being in either tax year, I must have earned or been credited with at least 26 weeks. So that's OK. The second one however, requires earnings of 50 x the LEL. So I'm thinking that due to only having 16 ESA credits in 2012-2013 I will fail the criteria and not be awarded any JSA. Would any one be able to confirm this for me - I'll still go ahead and apply for it, but just getting a bit nervous at the prospect of no income (my fiancee works more than 20 hours a week so no Income based JSA either). Many Thanks in advance

Hey folks, quick question, when you die, does your estate recieve a refund of your NI contributions? (if you die before retirement?) Also anyway to track assest? any good tracing services? and finally how do you obtain a copy of a deceased persons credit file? THANKS ALL!!

Hey have been in this country for the past 3 years have been working on and off while doing my studies. I just wanted to find out if there is any possibility of claiming some of national insurance contributions since and going back to my home country thereby making my future pension contributions void.

do ni contributions count when on esa and jsa

Hi I'm currently trying to claim JSA (contributions based - i don't qualify for income based jsa because of my wife's earnings) but my claim has been rejected as one of the years used for the assessment (2010-11) i have a shortfall of just over 100 pounds (9 weeks contributions) If i make a voluntary contribution to make up the shortfall, close my existing claim and open a new one, once the voluntary contribution has been processed, will i then be eligible ? 2 seperate people i have spoken to on the benefit centre phonelines have advised me to do this. However on the HMRC site i have read that voluntary NI contributions don't count towards JSA and am now very confused. I'd rather not pay £100 to make up the shortfall if any future claim for JSA will still get rejected It's frustrating that because there was a short time when i wasn't working or signing on that i am ineligible despite the many years of previously paid contributions and now on the one occasion i need help the application is refused Any advice welcomed

Hi All, hopefully this will be a quick question to resolve, but haven't had much luck myself: my partner is Slovakian and as such needs to prove tax paid in the UK at the end of every working year in Slovakia to stop her needing to pay tax there. Normally this has been done through a P60, but as she wasn't working on the cut off date at the end of the last tax year she hasn't received one. We wrote to HMRC requesting proof of tax paid, but received just a really basic letter that just covered the time she did work; the problem being it does not look at all like a summary for the year, just for the period she was employed, and she's concerned that if she takes this to the tax office in Slovakia they'll either not accept it (it's not well formatted as a tax/income summary) or will not be happy as it doesn't cover the whole tax year. Is there any way to get something more like a regular P60 that states tax paid/income for the whole year, even if she was not employed for the entire duration? Thanks for any help you can give!

Hi Does anyone know if NI contributions are paid by the benefits agency while claiming conts based benefits or should I phone up and pay them myself? I've googled and can't seem to find any info. Thanks.

Hello all (first time poster), Please could someone offer any advice or similar experience? Towards the tail-end of 2012, I accepted the offer of a position with a certain organisation with a 6 month probationary period. Part of the package was that the employer would pay an extra 10% on top of my salary into a non-contributory pension scheme. Once there, I discovered that my line manager had taken a dislike to my predecessor who lasted under two weeks before resigning as a result. Unfortunately, it soon became clear that the same line manager had also taken a disliking to myself and made it equally clear that I would not last through the probationary period. I actually lasted the best part of 5 months before resigning as the line manager was making my life ever more intolerable and was also dropping hints that, should I not leave, I would be fired at my six month review and would also suffer from not receiving a decent reference. I noted that the promised pension contributions were not being paid into the pension plan that had been setup and found that the payments were being actively "delayed" by my line-manager. The payments were due to have been made "from day one" and I unearthed that my predecessor's pension plan payments had been similarly delayed by the same manager. The amount which should have been paid into the plan (but wasn't) amounts to nearly £600 and I wondered who that unpaid sum belongs to? It's not in the fund, so has been kept by the employer. I have since raised this, along with other complaints regarding my treatment and reason for resigning - just prior to my 6 month review - with the organisation but they have said they find no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the manager (and to, effectively, "sling-yer-hook"). No comment, in their reply to my complaint, was forthcoming with regard to my query regarding the pension contributions that should have been made. I have no idea who that cash belongs to - but could sorely use it as I am since unemployed. Can someone offer a definitive answer or any other advice, please?

Hi, could someone give me some advice please? I was made redundant over 6 months ago and my contributions-based JSA has just run out. I still have assets of over £16k - does that mean I am not entitled to any further benefits until my savings are exhausted? I believe if I still sign on anyway I will get my weekly NI contributions paid? Does anyone know how much that is worth each week? £5, £10 etc; Ta for any help

I have just left my employment, not on entirely good terms. In my employment contract it states: You will be entitled to become a member of the Company’s pension scheme and we will pay into an appropriate pension fund on your behalf, on a monthly basis, an amount corresponding to a maximum of 5% of your basic salary (excluding bonus and benefits) subject to any Inland Revenue requirements and overriding legislation. I have been with the company over 2 years, and on many many occasions I have asked for this to be sorted, but they never did. Much was agreed (for all staff, its a small firm) and back payments agreed, but never paid, due mainly to ineffective management and cash flow. What should I do. I have written to say they are contractually obliged to make these contributions and I want to be compensated. But what payments do they have to make to me? the full amount? or do they pay this to an insurance firm?? Not sure. thanks

Hi All, This is my first post to this forum, hope i can explain well enough my predicament.... I have lost my ESA appeal in December, my last Atos assessment was back in January 2012. I believed it was possible to claim ESA again as i had not been assessed for over 6 months, i have sent back the forms and today have been told that i am not able to claim the income related ESA as i have not paid enough contributions. On telephoning them for clarity, as yesterday i was refused a crisis loan, wondering how long i would would have to be without money, i was told i had to live off my parters earnings. I am confused as i have received a letter through the post telling me to send another (un)fit note as mine was due to run out on the 14 of feb, which I have sent. I also recieved a Atos assement for to fill out. Why have i recieved this if i am not entitled to ESA?? I have nothing my daughter has no nappies etc I am at a loss as to what to do. I have made every effort to contact the local CAB to no avail today. I really hope someone can shed some light and give me a bit of hope with discussion on this matter, Thanx for reading,

and I know that I won't get anything means tested - we're not badly off and my wife is a top rate taxpayer. So, lucky us. I have looked at the JSA3 form and I don't wish to fill it in. It's intrusive and being as I know I will get nothing I can't see the point of giving all that information away. So, my questions are. Do I need to keep signing in order to maintain my NI record (or whatever)? I am still looking for a job and so should still appear in the unemployed stats - is this possible without filling in the JSA3? Thanks

My husband is unemployed and can't get JSA because he is about £400 earnings short in one of his years for NI contributions. Do these rules apply if he applies for ESA? I work 24 hours but managing on one wage is hard. He had an operation last year and had titanium put in his neck so is still suffering and could go on ESA but we don't know if he wuld still be turned down. He wants a job he can do but has interviews but as yet no job. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks

Since March 2010 my wife who is now over 60 has been on SSP and then ESA which stopped in April 2012. In early 2011 she went for an ATOS assessment and moved into the ESA support group. As she has osteoarthritis in her hands, wrists and lower arms there is almost no chance of her working again. When her contribution based ESA finished in April she never applied to move it to income ESA or whatever they call it. As I am on Pension credit I notified the relevant department that she no longer received ESA and they adjusted my Pension credit payment. In essence we get a bit less than when she was on ESA. Today she received a letter advising her to attend another ATOS medical in two weeks time. Perhaps they think there is a miracle cure for osteoarthritis? She contacted them to advise she was not claiming JSA or ESA and asked if she still needed to attend. They told her that she would not be getting any NI contributions paid and to notify Jobcentre. We assume that they would have checked before increasing my pension credit. She has in excess of 25 years contributions, but less than 30. Should she apply for income support ESA or are her contributions enough for her state pension? What should we do?

I am getting made redundant in the near future. Thankfully I have a personal income protection insurance but to qualify this I need to be in receipt of JSA. Here is where the problem lies. For the past 18 months I have been paying my NICS as any employee does, but prior to that my wages was paid primarily as dividends and I was paid a minimum salary to qualify for my NIC contributions being up to date, even though I did not actually pay anything. I know I won't get IB JSA due to my partner working and savings. I am now being told by various colleagues that I therefore may not even be entitled to CB JSA because I will not have paid enough NIC's. I do have a NIC record which states that 'Payment not needed' for years 2006 - 2010 (when I was being paid via dividends) and there is also a statement which says 'If any tax year on the enclosed schedule has 'payment not needed' next to it, the tax year has enough NIC's paid or credits allocated to be a qualifying year for basic State Pension and bereavement payments' but is this enough to qualify for CB JSA. Can anyone shed any light on this please.

Hi, i have recently won my appeal at the tribunal and am still waiting for the information from the DWP. my query is basically i have been on esa contributions based since my claim started but dont quite know why because i am 23 now, live alone and only receive this benefit along with housing benefit. ive always been under the impression i am entitled to income based as i haven't worked for 3 years due to my illness. when speaking to the jobcentre back about a year ago i was told i dont qualify for income based but i dont understand why not really. the reason i want clarity on this situation is because of this new legislation put in place for esa contributions based being stopped after a year. i haven't received a letter regarding it but have a feeling that i might in the near future even though i have just passed my appeal and satisfy them that i am unable to work. can somebody please tell me if i do qualify for income based or not. if anymore information is needed im more than happy to give it. any help would be appreciated. thanks.