Ensuring your National Insurance (NI) record is complete is crucial, gaps can affect your entitlement to the State Pension and other benefits. These gaps may occur if you were:

• Employed with low earnings
• Unemployed without claiming benefits
• Self-employed with small profits
• Living or working outside the UK

Importance of a Complete NI Record
Having gaps in your NI record can prevent you from:

• Receiving a State Pension (often referred to as ‘qualifying years’)
• Qualifying for benefits, you can find more information on these in the link below.

You might be able to fill these gaps by paying voluntary contributions.

Eligibility for Voluntary Contributions
You are not eligible to pay voluntary contributions if you:

• Do not have any gaps in your NI record
• Are paying a reduced rate NI as you are a married woman or widow
• Have missed the deadline for paying contributions for the period with gaps

Checking Your NI Record
To determine your need for voluntary contributions, you should:

• Check for gaps in your NI record
• Calculate the cost of paying voluntary contributions
• Assess whether paying voluntary contributions will benefit you
• Check if you can pay online

Before paying voluntary contributions, check your eligibility for National Insurance credits. If you believe your NI record is incorrect, contact HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Deciding to Pay Voluntary Contributions
Voluntary contributions may not always increase your State Pension, especially if you were contracted out.
Whether you are below or have already reached State Pension age, there are services available to help you determine whether paying voluntary contributions will benefit you. For more information, please refer to the link at the bottom.

Reasons to Consider Voluntary Contributions

• You are close to the State Pension age and lack enough qualifying years for the full pension.
• You know you won’t accumulate the required qualifying years during your working life.
• You are self-employed with annual profits below £6,725.
• You live outside the UK but want to qualify for the State Pension or benefits.
• You are ineligible for National Insurance credits.

Specific Cases for Self-Employed Individuals
Certain self-employed individuals may need to pay voluntary contributions if their Class 2 contributions are not automatically counted. This includes:

• Examiners, invigilators or similar
• Business owners involving land or property
• Ministers of religion without a salary or stipend
• Investors managing their investments not within a business

For further details, we have linked the GOV.UK website on this topic. This information applies to everyone in the UK and those overseas, if you have any further questions, do reach out, our team at Whittaker & Co is here to help.

Voluntary National Insurance: Overview – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Link to the personal tax account where NI records and state pension forecast can be checked – https://www.gov.uk/personal-tax-account