Anyone about to advise on NI Contributions?

[IrishJP]

Hi all

i’m going to call the relevant people on Monday but just wondering if anyone can advise in the meantime.

I am disabled, and claimed IB from age 16, then was switched to ESA in 2014. Im in the support group and have been ever since I applied.

Its always been my understanding that a certain amount of NI contributions are paid to go towards pension etc but feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.

I’m not really sure why I checked tonight but my gov.uk account is showing that my NI was paid in full yearly until 2017

in 2017 it’s saying I paid 14 weeks
2018-2021 it’s saying I paid NO contributions
2021-22 it’s saying I paid 50 weeks.

in July 2017 I moved from England to Northern Ireland, so I feel like the 14 weeks paid were prior to my move

But, I’m still in the UK, still claiming ESA, still in the same groups, I wasn’t reassessed and it wasn’t a new claim
so I don’t understand why this would’ve affected anything

And if it is due to my move, why did I start getting contributions in 2021, but then not get the full year.

i’m just baffled by the whole thing. I know realistically I have to speak with ESA/Whoever deals with NI

But as they won’t be open til Monday, can anyone more knowledgeable shed any light?

While claiming ESA you should get class 1 National Insurance credits automatically. (see www.gov.uk/national-insurance-credits/eligibility)

If there was no break in your claim (and just a change of address) then it's likely to be some kind of admin error. As you said, you just need to contact them on Monday, but I think it should be corrected.

@AnotherEmma
Thank you, that’s what I was thinking, it’s as well I checked because I haven’t get got to the 10 years, imagine if I’d never realised and they continued not to pay and I didn’t get a pension!

Mind you, there may well be no state pension by the time I get there

Hi, i was also on IB from 16, switched to ESA also 2014 i believe, and because of the IB i was put on contribution based esa, which should only last a year, but they never moved me to income related esa after that like they should have. Not only did this mean i was stuck paying for prescriptions, eye tests etc that should have been free, i wasnt getting a top up i was entitled to, and a few years ago they finally switched me to income related, and back paid me over 5k for the missing premium. I checked my NI contributions a few years ago, and had the same 14 weeks for the year i was on contribution based esa, then nothing from that point at all, when i should have auto got full class 1's. I sent an email, never got a reply but checked my gateway a few months later and was updated to full for every year. I suspect similar has happened to you, and probably many others.