Hi, not an expert but - I've paid my "thirty years" (nearly half as an expat here and in the Middle East, but also some swingeing payments as a relatively high-earner in the UK) so I don't need to make any more voluntary contributions I'm told.

BUT, if I went back to the UK to live (God forbid! :-) ) I would have to pay full NI again - because it's not just the pension fund you're paying into - it's your unemployment and NHS payment as well.... that's my understanding

And anyway, 104 pounds a year is peanuts compared to getting a full pension when you retire - for 30 x 208 pounds (or whatever it is) paid in you get 6000 pounds a year (or whatever it is) until you die - maybe twenty years or more! It's a no brainer. You get it all back in the first year.

No way does it contribute to anything more than a small payment compared to the cost the state is going to make. My only worry is that future governments will legislate this payment away.....