With an aging population and decreasing pension benefits, it is only to be expected that some people are being forced to work longer to cope with the rising costs of living.

For many, this may mean working past their State Pension age, and with this currently being on a tiered scale, rising up to 68 depending upon your date of birth, you can check your state pension here.

For many employees, who in the past decided to work past State Pension age, they would have received an Age Exception Certificate (CA4140) from HMRC. This would have then been passed to their employer and confirmed that the employees’ liability to Class 1 (primary) National Insurance Contributions has stopped. However, recently HMRC have stopped issuing these certificates to employees, instead preferring that they present their employer with their birth certificate of passport to confirm their date of birth, and the employer retain a copy of this document.

In situations whereby employees are not forthcoming with either their birth certificate of passport, it is still possible for the employee to contact HMRC who will issue a letter confirming they have reached State Pension age.

HMRC
National Insurance Contributions and Employer Office
Individuals Caseworker
Benton Park View
Longbenton
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE98 1ZZ

Unfortunately, the liability for employers doesn’t stop when an employee reaches State Pension age, and instead the employer pays standard National Insurance Contributions.

Written by Richard Nuttall
Published on January 27, 2014