UK voluntary contributions in EEA countries
If you are working in another EEA country, and have to stop paying compulsory UK contributions you will be insured under that country's scheme. However, if you have previously worked in the UK and been paying compulsory Class 1 or 2 UK contributions you can take steps to "top up" your UK National Insurance record by paying voluntary contributions while you are abroad.
These are called ‘voluntary contributions’ because you do not have to pay them if you do not want to. If you do pay ‘voluntary contributions’, they may help you get a UK State Pension and some other UK benefits in future. You need to decide if it would be in your interests to pay UK voluntary contributions.
To help you, you should note that:
- if you are sent to work in another EEA country by your UK employer, and you are insured under that other country’s scheme, you can get UK Incapacity Benefit, contribution-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or Maternity Allowance when you come back to the UK. But you must have kept your normal home in the UK; and
- you must not be able to get the other country’s benefit;
- for all the weeks that you are doing work for which you are paid while you are abroad, you can usually pay voluntary contributions at either the Class 2 rate or the Class 3 rate;
- for any other weeks you can pay at the Class 3 rate only;
- Class 2 contributions count for State Pension, bereavement benefits, Maternity Allowance and short-term Incapacity Benefit;
- Class 3 contributions count for State Pension and bereavement benefits; and
- you cannot use voluntary UK contributions to help you get UK contribution-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, nor do they give you cover for healthcare (see section 38).
If you want to pay voluntary contributions to the UK NI scheme while you are in another EEA country, contact the HMRC Residency as soon as possible. You must pay your voluntary contributions within certain time limits for them to count for benefit.
Note: You will not be able to pay voluntary contributions to the UK scheme if you are already paying voluntary contributions in another EEA country.
