You can top up your state pension if you have gaps in your National Insurance record. Find out how much voluntary contributions cost and how to buy them.
Paul Davies
In this article
You may have gaps or part years in your National Insurance (NI) record for a number of reasons - you may have been employed on low earnings or taken a break from work to raise your children.
Those who were self-employed or worked abroad may also have gaps in their record.
If your National Insurance record is incomplete you can make up one or more qualifying years by paying voluntary contributions - known as Class 3 contributions. Voluntary Class 2 contributions are for low-income self-employed people.
How many full National Insurance qualifying years you have is important as it will go some way to determining how much state pension you'll get.
Get a firmer grip on your finances with the expert tips in our Money newsletter – it's free weekly.
This newsletter delivers free money-related content, along with other information about Which? Group products and services. Unsubscribe whenever you want. Your data will be processed in accordance with our Privacy policy
You now need 35 years of National Insurance contributions to qualify for the full state pension, which is worth £221.20 a week in 2024-25.
To qualify for any state pension at all, you need 10 years of National Insurance contributions.
If you decide to pay for voluntary contributions you'll usually need to do so within six years of the year in question, although there are some exceptions.
Everyone can top up their state pension in this way if they have gaps, but the cost of the extra contributions varies depending on which system you qualify under - see below.
You can usually pay voluntary contributions for the past six years. The deadline is 5 April each year.
So you have until 5 April 2025 to make up for gaps for the tax year 2018-19.
You can currently pay for gaps from more than six years ago, depending on your age.
If you're a man born after 5 April 1951 or a woman born after 5 April 1953, you now have until 5 April 2025 to pay voluntary contributions to make up for gaps between April 2006 and April 2016.
The April 2025 deadline has been extended twice, first from April 2023 and then from July 2023, to allow more people to access the necessary advice.
After 5 April 2025, you'll only be able to pay for voluntary contributions for the past 6 years.
This will depend on when the gaps in your record occurred.
The standard cost of buying 'Class 3' National Insurance contributions is £17.45 for a week of missing contributions in the 2024-25 tax year. It would cost you £907.40 for an entire year.
However, if you are looking to fill gaps that occurred in the past two tax years, you would pay the rate from those years. The rate for 2023-24 was also £17.45 for a week. Voluntary contributions for gaps in 2022-23 cost £15.85 per week.
For those able to fill gaps between 2006 and 2016 (men born after 5 April 1951 and women born after 5 April 1953), the cost for a week is £15.85.
Voluntary contributions won't always increase your state pension, so you'll need to find out if you'll benefit from plugging the gaps.
Where there are gaps and you are missing a few years, plugging the holes seems to represent a good deal with a short breakeven period. It is around 2.5-3 years for employees (£824.20 or £907.40 to pay for extra years divided by £302.86 in additional annual state pension) and less than a year for the self-employed (£179.40 divided by £302.86).
Filling blanks for certain years - particularly those before 2016/17 - can sometimes have no impact on your state pension, particularly if you were contracted out of the additional state pension or had already paid in 30 years by April 2016.
It’s therefore extremely important to check whether making these contributions will be advantageous first. This is done by contacting the Future Pension Centre (part of the Department for Work and Pensions) on 0800 731 0175.
Plugging gaps may generally be a good idea if:
There are some things to think about before you start the process.
Ensure that you are getting any NI credits you are entitled to before contemplating paying voluntary NI contributions for a particular year. These are free and will apply, say, if you are caring for a child in the family as a parent or grandparent, claiming statutory sick pay or looking after a sick/disabled person.
It may be that pension credit can cover the gap (and mean you don’t have to pay for voluntary contributions) if you're likely to have a low income and will only rely on state pension. Increased state pension may push you into a higher tax bracket, which will reduce the benefit of topping up.
A reversioned tool has been launched by HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) which allows those under state pension age to view gaps in their National Insurance (NI) record and pay for voluntary contributions online.
The government has enhanced its existing ‘check your state pension forecast’ tool, which you can access via gov.uk
If you have a personal tax account, you need to log in using your existing Government Gateway details; alternatively, you will be able to register to set up an account.
Once logged in, you'll be able to see which years have NI contribution gaps, the cost of filling the gaps with voluntary payments and by how much it would actually boost your state pension. You can then pay securely for the top-up.
Not everyone is able to use the tool. This includes people already getting the state pension or those looking to fill gaps from when self-employed or working abroad. The same applies if you’re within four months and eight days of state pension age.
If you’re one of the groups that cannot use the tool, or would prefer to do it over the phone, you’ll need to take the steps outlined below:
first. If you have gaps or incomplete years, it might be worth topping up.
to see how much you’re currently forecast to get based on your NI record so far and your projected amount if you work up to your state pension age. There’s no point buying missing years if you’re already set to get a full state pension.
2. This is the most important step. Confirm with the relevant team within the DWP that topping up the years identified will definitely boost your state pension entitlement before paying any money - it will use your personalised information to see if plugging gaps will increase your eventual state pension.
Contact the Future Pension Centre (if you’re not yet at state pension age) on 0800 731 0175 or the Pension Service (if you’re already claiming the state pension) on 0800 731 0469 to find out if topping up would be beneficial.
3. Decide if you do want to top up and which years. Some years, where you’ve made at least some NI contributions, will be cheaper than others. Plus, you don’t have to buy all your missing NI years in one go.
4. Get an 18-digit reference number from HMRC (0300 200 3500). This will be provided once the taxman gives you the cost of the years you want to buy.
5. Send the money to HMRC. The extra NI years will be credited to your record (if you’re not yet claiming state pension). If you are already claiming, the DWP will carry out a benefit review and then increase your payment.
A wide range of people can pay voluntary National Insurance contributions . Those in employment (Class 3) and the self-employed (usually Class 2) can plug gaps.
Those who've reached state pension age and want to fill in gaps in their National Insurance record are able to via Class 3 contributions.
Citizens living abroad and working (Class 2) or not working (Class 3) can still add contribution years.
You make Class 2 National Insurance contributions if you're self-employed to qualify for benefits like the state pension. This becomes payable once your profits exceed £6,725 a year.
In the 2023-24 tax year, the rate of Class 2 contributions is £3.45 a week. You can cover these gaps, too.
You'll also have to pay Class 4 NI contributions if your profits are £11,908 or more. The rate is 9.73% on profits between £11,908 and £50,270, and 2.73% on profits over £50,270.
Most people pay these contributions as part of their self-assessment tax return.
You may have paid some National Insurance contributions in a financial year but not enough to get a full qualifying year. Making contributions for those extra weeks can get you another full qualifying year.
You may be able to pay voluntary National Insurance contributions if you're living abroad or fill in gaps from when you were living abroad.
If you're living and working abroad, you'll pay Class 2 contributions, but only if you worked in the UK immediately before leaving and you've previously lived in the UK for three years in a row and paid three years of contributions.
Those not working can pay Class 3 contributions, but only if at some point you've lived in the UK continuously for three years and paid three years of contributions.
Voluntary National Insurance contributions paid from abroad don't cover your health insurance in the country where you live.
You can pay voluntary contributions by direct debit, bank transfer, or by cash or cheque at your local bank branch.
All the information you need can be found on the gov.uk website.
These were available until 5 April 2017 and allowed people who had reached the state pension age before April 2016 to top up their pension.
The time-limited offer was designed to help those who won't receive the new single-tier state pension that started in April 2016.
Those aged 65 were able to increase their state pension by £1 per week in exchange for £890.
Which? Limited is registered in England and Wales to 2 Marylebone Road, London NW1 4DF, company number 00677665 and is an Introducer Appointed Representative (FRN 610689) of the following:
1. Inspop.com Ltd for the introduction of non-investment motor, home, travel and pet insurance, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to provide advice and arrange non-investment motor, home, travel and pet insurance products (FRN310635). Inspop.com Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to provide advice and arrange non-investment motor, home, travel and pet insurance products (FRN310635) and is registered in England and Wales to Greyfriars House, Greyfriars Road, Cardiff, South Wales, CF10 3AL, company number 03857130. Confused.com is a trading name of Inspop.com Ltd.
2. LifeSearch Partners Limited (FRN656479), for the introduction of Pure Protection Contracts and Private Health Insurance, who are authorised and regulated by the FCA to provide advice and arrange Pure Protection Contracts and Private Health Insurance Contracts. LifeSearch Partners Ltd is registered in England and Wales to 3000a Parkway, Whiteley, Hampshire, PO15 7FX, company number 03412386.
3. HUB Financial Solutions, for the introduction of equity release advice and an annuity comparison service, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (‘FCA’) to provide advice and guidance on financial products for those who have retired or are approaching retirement (FCA Firm Reference Number: 455713). HUB Financial Solutions is registered in England and Wales to Enterprise House, Bancroft Road, Reigate, Surrey RH12 7RP, company number 05125701.
4. Alan Boswell Insurance Brokers Ltd (FRN 301), for the introduction of non-investment landlord insurances, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority to provide advice and arrange insurance contracts. Alan Boswell insurance brokers Ltd is registered in England at Prospect House, Rouen Rd, Norwich NR1 1RE, company number 02591252.
Other financial services:
Mortgage service provided by London & Country Mortgages (L&C), Unit 26 (2.06), Newark Works, 2 Foundry Lane, Bath BA2 3GZ. London & Country are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (registered number: 143002). The FCA does not regulate most Buy to Let mortgages. Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
We do not make, nor do we seek to make, any recommendations or personalised advice on financial products or services that are regulated by the FCA, as we’re not regulated or authorised by the FCA to advise you in this way. In some cases, however, we have included links to regulated brands or providers with whom we have a commercial relationship and, if you choose to, you can buy a product from our commercial partners.
If you go ahead and buy a product using our link, we will receive a commission to help fund our not-for-profit mission and our campaigns work as a champion for the UK consumer. Please note that a link alone does not constitute an endorsement by Which?.
