Deadline looms to top up 'extra' back years of UK state pension for Britons in France

Britons living in France can top up their UK state pension, if needed, which is usually restricted to the last six UK tax years on a rolling basis. However there is a current window allowing for the top up of missing contributions from April 2006 to April 2019. 

This opportunity, which was temporarily extended, will not be available after April 5, 2025.

Here are some key points to remember about topping up a UK pension from abroad.

Pension eligibility criteria

You can receive a UK state pension while living in France if you have made at least 10 qualifying years of National Insurance (NI) contributions and/or if you have made payments into a French pension which can be used to help you qualify for a pension as part of EU pension aggregation rules (which were retained for the UK by the Brexit Trade and Cooperation Agreement).

The amount you will receive depends on the number of years you have contributed. To receive the full new state pension – currently £221.20 per week – you need 35 qualifying years of NI contributions.

You can top up years from France

If you have gaps in your NI record, you are likely to be able to pay voluntary Class 2 or Class 3 NI contributions so as to qualify for a pension or to increase your pension entitlement.

The UK government states that to do so you should, however, have, as a minimum, have already at some point been subject to UK social security via employed or self-employed work in the UK. 

For those living abroad outside Europe, the UK requires that they should also have previously lived in the UK for at least three years in a row and/or paid at least three years of UK NI contributions, however for people who live in the EU periods living in the EU and paying into an EU country social security system can also count.

Class 2 NI contributions (by far the cheaper option) are available to those who are working abroad, including on a self-employed basis. To qualify you need to also have worked in the UK prior to leaving. 

The cost to top up Class 2 contributions is currently £3.45 per week. It means a year’s top will cost £179.40.

Class 3 NI contributions are available to those who want to fill gaps but do not qualify for Class 2. The current rate is £17.45 per week, amounting to £907.40 per year.

How to check your pension levels and pay top-ups

There are two ways to check your pension contributions. You can:

• Check your NI record: You can do this on the UK government website here, either by logging in or creating an account

• Contact HMRC: If you are eligible, you can arrange voluntary contributions through HMRC

You can pay from abroad via bank transfer.

Read more: How to top up your UK state pension when you live in France

Deadlines for back-year voluntary contributions looms

Normally, you can pay for missing years going back to a maximum of six years, based on UK tax years (which run April 6 to April 5). This means under the normal rules, you would have until April 5, 2025 to top up the tax years 2018-2019 and beyond.

However, there is currently a special extension allowing men born after April 5, 1951 and women born after April 5, 1953 to also fill in gaps from the tax years 2006-2007 to 2017-2018 until April 5, 2025 (if you were born before these dates, you can fill in gaps between 2016-2017 and 2018-2019).

After April 5, 2025, everyone will be limited to filling in years on a rolling six-year basis, so from next month (the start of the tax year 2025-2026) they cannot be made further back than 2019-2020.

The UK authorities note that if you are topping up gaps between 2006-2007 and 2022-2023 you will in fact pay the rate that applied in the 2022-2023 tax year, which was £3.15/week for Class 2 and £15.85 for Class 3.