This remains a standing item and will do so as long as we continue to receive a mailbag from those who have successfully claimed NI credits for service abroad, having read about it through us – the most recent letter on the subject arrived saying:
‘My wife applied for the gaps in her payment history to be filled for the four years we served in Germany (1995-1999), and has been credited with entitlement for the gaps that had previously existed.’
If you are a spouse eligible for the new state pension (but sadly not those eligible for and drawing the old pre-April 2015 state pension), and you have gaps in your National Insurance record caused by accompanied service abroad – you can claim back the missing years. And if you were smart enough to pay for the missing years when you were abroad and before the credits came in – you can claim those costs back as well (although experience of members doing this have been mixed).
See: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-insurance-credits-for-partners-of-armed-forces-personnel-overseas-after-6-april-1975 for details – and tell your mates
