One of the laddies around here worked in UK for 5 years, 10 to 15 years back.
He paid NI while doing so.
He thinks he can claim back the NI he paid.
I dunno but I’ve been elected to write letters, do the English, for him in his quest.
So, is this possible? If it is, how? Where does one even start?
Did your mate utilise any of the services purportedly funded from National Insurance contributions during his time in these blessed isles?
Does he not feel a sense of righteousness at having contributed money to the envy of the world NHS?
Or perhaps he would like to take into consideration the number of his fellow countrymen and women who have availed themselves of our healthcare over they years without ever contributing to it?
IANAwotever, but I don’t think you can claim back NI. It’s gorn. It sticks on your record forever until you are entitled to draw the state pension, then you get MAX((n/35th)AND(n>=10),1) pension payments. You can *overpay* to increase your “pot” amount, but you can’t “unpay” once you’ve paid.
What is a hurdle for Brits overseas is kicking DWP at pension time and getting them to make the payments.
This page mentions it:
https://www.taxrebateservices.co.uk/tax-faqs/national-insurance/claim-a-national-insurance-refund
The linked page seems to say there is a 4 or 6 year deadline for applying, so you may be too late.
With due respect to Addolff, the vital question is, is your laddie religious? As you know, socialists hate religion in much the same way as Moslems hate gays, but the two “communities”-as modern parlance has it-seem to have had an epiphany, such that in the UK, although our PM is called TTK by some nasty far right thugs, is is in fact MTK, as in “Multi”, so a certain religion appears top-tier. This has far reaching effects on all aspects of UK life, so under certain circumstances a refund next week is a raging cert and, if all requirements are fulfilled, a bonus may be available…
Otherwise, the DWP may help?
Another cup of tea and some digging around finds that foreigners resident in foreign can claim back payments made in the last six years.
This applies to British citizens:
“You cannot claim back any National Insurance you’ve paid in the UK if you leave the UK permanently. However, anything you’ve paid might count towards benefits in the country you’re moving to – if it’s one of the countries that have a social security agreement with the UK.”
This applies to foreigners:
“You should be eligible to claim [a NI refund] if:
You are resident outside the UK
You are not a UK national
You have paid national insurance in any of the last six UK tax years”
There’s an online form on the HMRC site, I’ll dig it out.
Here we are, try this in the first instance:
https://www.gov.uk/claim-national-insurance-refund
I don’t think he can reclaim it from that far back but he should be able to transfer his entitlements to the system in Portugal just as a person from the UK retiring abroad can do.
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/Migrated_Documents/adviceguide/e-migrant-workers—tax-and-national-insurance.pdf
See “National insurance if you go back home”
I suspect the way to do it is through the Portugal social security system not the UK one.
As a last resort he could get some value for his five years of contributions by making a further five years at a bargain cheap rate such that his total equals ten. Then he’d be due 10/35 of a full pension when he’s 67 or 68 or whatever it then is.
First he’d want to go online to check that he really does have five years of credit.
I have no idea whether this is a better bet than trying to get Portuguese recognition of those original five years.
Some browsing through this website might turn up useful tips.
https://www.lemonfool.co.uk/viewforum.php?f=77&sid=12c73f0c76f218398a82dc06a880a933
Pretty certain that you can’t. Although the benefit can be ‘transferred’ to your home country if there is an agreement between the two countries. The UK and Portugal will have such an agreement, Portugal being in the EEA.
References to refunds of NI refer to situations where you have multiple employments and/or employment and self employment and end up paying too much NI for your total income as a result of that.
UK has bilateral agreements with many countries ( not the EU ) where citizens can reclaim their NI payments.
I can do so for my various stints in Germany, but have to wait until near official retirement . The Jerries will reimburse DWP/HMRC directly. Theoretically I can claim that back for myself but I’ll only spend it on coke and hookers and in cash term it isn’t much.
I said to the chap at DWP “What I have to keep my payslips for another 10 years ?”
He laughed “Afraid so. Make sure the mice don’t eat them.”
I would be willing to bet that 10 years is too long to claim a refund – if refunds are even allowed (you can’t, for example, claim back your Social Security taxes even if you relinquish citizenship here).
Not my thing, but from what little I’ve seen, yes, there is a system for foreigners to work in Britain and not pay NI here. There are bilateral social security treaties, and I think there is a post-Brexit one with the EU. But:
1) it is for temporary UK working; having said that, I have heard of 2 years, so while 5 seems excessive, it might not be.
2) you have to still be paying social security in your home country for all the time you are working in Britain. This is the heart of the scheme, I don’t think there’s any way around that, so first thing to do is ask your laddie that.
3) you have to be able to prove (2),. The only times I’ve seen it, that’s been done by a certificate from your home authority, but I don’t know if other proofs are admissible. If he can’t prove it, no claim.
4) I’ve only seen it for secondments, where they are still employed by the home country employer (who arranges the certificate in (3)) but working temporarily for its British branch. Other situations may be possible, but if so I’m not sure why they would still be paying social security back home, which is needed for (2).
5) the only times I’ve seen it, the worker has come to the UK already having the certificate referred to in (3), and the UK employer has not deducted NI. I have not heard of retrospective claims; it may be possible, but doing so after 10 years seems unlikely.
6) if it was 10 years ago, that would have been pre-Brexit, so the rules may have been different, but I think not very different; there was an EU standard certificate that you got and took around with you.