How to top up your UK state pension

Do I qualify for a UK state pension?

To qualify for the full new state pension, you need 35 qualifying years of NI contributions. If you have fewer than 35 years, you will receive a reduced pension, and if you have less than 10 years, you won’t qualify at all.

The full amount is currently £221.20 a week or £11,502.40 a year in 2024-25. With 10 qualifying years, you will receive £63.20 a week or £3,286.40 and if you have 11 to 34 years of qualifying contributions you’ll get an amount in between.

Gaps in your NI record can arise for various reasons including:

• Time spent abroad
• Periods of low or no earnings
• Taking time out to have children
• Self-employed without making contributions 
• Being a carer without claiming NI credits

Cost of topping up your pension

Usually, you can only fill gaps in your NI record for the previous six tax years. However, a special extension introduced by the UK government allows you to make voluntary contributions to cover gaps between 2006 and 2016. The rules were due to end in April last year, but HMRC extended the deadline to 5 April 2025 to allow more people to access the necessary advice.

Men born after 5 April 1951 and women born after 5 April 1953, qualify for the concession which means anyone due to retire after 2016.

After the 5 April 2025 deadline, the number of extra years you can purchase will drop back to six, so it’s important to check for any gaps now.

For free advice and guidance on whether making up the gaps will be beneficial to your entitlement, visit the Future Pension Centre.

Most people will need to pay voluntary Class 3 NI contributions to top up their state pension. The rate you pay depends on which year you are buying.

If you’re self-employed or living abroad, you may qualify to pay Class 2 contributions, which are significantly lower than Class 3. But you can only qualify for Class 2 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.

Topping up your state pension can be very lucrative. Figures from the investment platform Interactive Investor reveal that spending £907 today to top-up your NI record could add £1,727 to your state pension over five years or £8,395 over 20 years. These figures are based on the full state pension payment of £11,502 for the 2024/25 tax year.

If you buy 10 years of NI for £8,323, that could boost your retirement pot by £17,274 over five years or £83,947 over 20.

If you reached state pension age before 6 April 2016, you’ll be on the old system which means you can’t boost the amount you get using voluntary contributions. However, you may get more money by delaying receiving your pension.

The Future Pension Centre doesn’t recommend topping up if you are:

• Under 45 years old and you can fill in the gaps naturally through work.
• Already on track for the 35-year requirement.
• Contracted out of the additional state pension during the years in which you have gaps, because you won’t be able to buy additional contributions.

How to check if you’re missing National Insurance years

You can check your state pension forecast online by going to the UK government’s website. This digital service will tell you how much state pension you are on track to receive, whether you can get more and the voluntary NI contributions you would need to pay to achieve this.

According to HMRC, more than 10,000 payments worth £12.5 million have been made through this service since it launched in April 2024. You can use the tool by logging into your HMRC Government Gateway online account or via the free and secure HMRC app.

Most customers will be able to use the online top-up service without needing to phone HMRC or the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). This includes British expats who are living abroad who want to pay National Insurance contributions for the years when they lived in the UK.

The service is not available to those who are already receiving their state pension, self-employed workers, or those currently living outside the UK with gaps incurred while working abroad.

Check if you are due National Insurance credits

Check to see if you are eligible for free credits before buying back years. Check out the NI section on the UK government website to see if you can get those years back without having to pay for them.

For example, if you were claiming statutory sick pay and not earning enough for a qualifying year, you could be eligible for NI credits. Another way would be if you’re an unpaid carer or are looking for work.

Proper planning is essential to ensure you can enjoy a successful and fulfilling retirement. Get in touch with our expert advisers at accounting@sableinternational.com or call +44 (0) 20 7759 7553.