Have you topped up a UK pension to cover gaps?

[andye]

Can you specify which years you want to pay for? My understanding is that you pay a lump sum into the HMRC bank account and then they allocate it - but I can't see anything that tells me how they do this (ie will they allocate to Class 2 years first or Class 3)? My wife is in a similar situation with a mix of class 2 and 3, but she only needs to top up the class 2's to get her full 35 years.

I was wrestling with this as she has 3 class 3 years when not working in Aus before the Class 2s to date.

I called and they said not to worry and they would allocate the best way.

I am not 100% confident they will do it to best advantage but apparently the advice is to wait the 6-8 weeks for the record to update then there is a process where you can ask for the payment to be reallocated if you don't like what's happened

 

[SydneySwan]

Could you simply not make multiple payments, one for each year that you wish to pay? If it comes down to reallocating - at least you can argue it should have been obvious that you were paying a year at a time for the cheapest years.