jennabean5810

Explain the math to me Rob. £14.10/week is £733.20 a year to be contributed. But why contribute until age 67? Wouldn't she quit when she reaches 30 years contributed? Isn't that the point that contributions puts you to the maximum benefit level? In her case 12 more years? £8798.40. Do you have to pay up until age 67? Do you get more in the state scheme by paying in fifty years? I don't really understand the UK State pension, but I have read the website numerous times. Somewhere going around the circle of links, I always felt a little lost...like I didn't find the definitive answer. Maybe there isn't one right now because some of the talk of the new plan seems yet to be determined. I got my husband to order a statement which left even more questions. Then I forget about it until one of these pension threads rolls around again. I appreciate your input Rob since you have studied and discussed it with a FA.

I recently discussed this with a Financial Adviser (FA) as I had the same question. I'm not an expert at all so I could be wrong in places but I'll share my thinking process as that may be more useful since everyone's financial circumstances are different.
You would be paying class 3 contributions of £14.10 per week, as of this year, which can be done through direct debit. Pension age for us is probably going to be around 67 so if we worked out your total, assuming you paid UK state until retirement of 67, you would need to pay at least £24,195. Though it will be a lot more as NI increases each year and rules change. As you have contributed more than ten years you will get the minimum state pension (if they don't change the rules in the next 30-40yrs). I'm similar to you, working since 16 and now 31.
If your record has gaps then it's possible to fill gaps in the last six years, if desired (useful if you come back to the UK). This link gives information on how much to expect from the New State Pension scheme which is highly likely to change again before we get to retirement.
So I would turn your question around and be asking - Am I better contributing this ~24k to a US personal pension (separate SIPP or on top of your voluntary company contribution) that I am in control of or giving it to the UK government scheme where I have no control (and subject to exchange rates too)?
As Nich-Nick points out you also have US/UK rules and tax consideration when you do pull your pension from the UK. It of course depends on whether you see yourself back in the UK in the next ten years (but then you could do a 6yr catch up if you are back in a short time).
The conclusion that I'm coming to is I'm not sure there is a right answer at this time, you'll find that out when you retire! But my thinking is I've met the 10yr min, I don't have intentions of coming back for the foreseeable future, I prefer influencing my investments to work their hardest for every pound/dollar I put in, and I like having a tiny bit of control of where my money goes.
As an aside to NI I would also recommend a FA before you leave the UK (they need 4-6 weeks too if you ask them to change/manage things for you), especially if you have UK personal pensions and (ex) company schemes. It's much easier to start a relationship with an FA sitting in front of him/her so you can feel good about them managing things if that's how things end up.
What they should do first is a free initial consultation and work out where you finances stand and your appreciation of risk. They would then compare each of your pension accounts to what is on the market and calculate your options in whether your pensions stay as is (ex-company schemes can be very cheap), consolidate, or move. It's roughly £250 per pension account to be "analysed". After which you can decide what to do based on the choices the FA gives you, e.g. stay as you are but with knowledge your pension is doing OK (get analysed in another couple of yrs) or get the FA to consolidate and manage it - ~3% commission, worth it if they make you pension increase an exponential proportion more.
I haven't decided yet on what to do but I got an FA so I at least feel more comfortable that I've done everything I can for the money/investments I leave in the UK.

So just that he's clear on what he needs to bring with him to his interview next week, here's what we've got:
Himself (obvious one!)
Available fingers for fingerprinting (also obvious!)
Passport (does he also need to bring his really old invalid one?)
Long form birth certificate
Police certificate
I134
employer letter from my sister
tax transcript from my sister
updated letter of intent from me (just in case)
DS160 confirmation
Visa appointment letter
US sized passport photo
visa interview/MRV confirmation
He still wants to bring his I129F and additional evidence to calm his mind.
Have we got it all?

I was thinking of submitting a second readiness!
I have already left via redundancy so a little different, what I would say is that over the last few weeks I have been closing down accounts that I don't need, sorting out the UK Pension, getting rid of a lot of stuff (ebay & boot fair), moving out my flat (back to the parents!), seeing family, preparing for next visa stage (AOS), preparing to sell car here and what car I want in the US, researching various things in the US (e.g. SSN, State ID, job market), updating CV and linked in, preparing wedding, researching medical insurance, researching wills in the US etc.
If I had to do all of this and work I think I would have pulled my hair out! If I didn't get redundancy then I had a 3 months resignation period so I was actually going to resign on the day NVC sent my case on to try and get a few weeks out of work to do as much as possible before I left the US (living at parents). Many of the financial stuff should be done in the UK rather than outside it as it's so much easier.
Also we are only in July which means that HMRC should also give a tax refund on what was earned from the May pay packets so expect money back there too which would help support a few weeks off work!

Just to get a tad nitpicky here, the TSC does not process any applications for visas. I am assuming you mean the I-129F petitions, and they are probably not working on the weekends either. They should be, to get through some of their backlog though.