If you are a man born after 5 April 1951 or a woman born after 5 April 1953, you have until 5 April 2025 to pay voluntary contributions to make up for gaps between tax years April 2006 and April 2016, if you’re eligible (see below).
This extension to the deadline was announced on 12 June 2023. Previously it was 5 April 2023, see our earlier article on NIC top-ups.
After 5 April 2025 you will only be able to pay for voluntary contributions for the past 6 years. This may not be enough to qualify for a new State Pension, if you have fewer than 4 qualifying years on your National Insurance record. You will usually need at least 10 qualifying years in total.
You will need 35 qualifying years to get the full State Pension.
Class 3 NI contributions are at a flat rate of £17.45 pw for 2023/24 & 2024/25, equal to £907.40 per year.
Eligibility to pay voluntary contributions
If you do not pay National Insurance you may have gaps in your National Insurance record. This could be because you were:
- employed but had low earnings
- unemployed and were not claiming benefits
- self-employed but did not pay contributions because of small profits
- living or working outside the UK
You will need to seek advice from your Independent Financial Adviser to determine whether paying the voluntary contributions is best for you in your personal situation.
Disclaimer
The views expressed in this article are the personal views of the Author and other professionals may express different views. They may not be the views of Lambert Chapman LLP. The material in the article cannot and should not be considered as exhaustive. Professional advice should be sought in connection with any of the issues contained in the article and the implementation of any actions.