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Filling a gap in National Insurance

A year missing from a National Insurance record can sometimes be filled with voluntary contributions. This page works out what a year costs at 2026/27 rates and roughly how much new State Pension it adds.

Check first. A State Pension forecast and your National Insurance record on GOV.UK show whether a year would add anything. Voluntary contributions do not always increase the State Pension: for example for someone who was contracted out, or whose record will reach the full rate anyway.

Your figures

It opens on an example: two years of Class 3 contributions. Change any of them. Your figures stay in this browser. The sums run on this page; nothing you type is sent to us or kept.

Class 2 is for some self-employed people with low profits; most other people pay Class 3. GOV.UK says which applies.

On these figures

On these figures, 2 years of Class 3 contributions cost £1,914 at 2026/27 rates, and would add about £13.79 a week (£717 a year) to a new State Pension that is not already at the full rate. The State Pension added comes to the cost in about 2.7 years.

  • One year costs £956.80 Class 3: £18.40 a week for 52 weeks, at 2026/27 rates.
  • All the years cost £1,914 For 2 years, at this year’s rate.
  • New State Pension added £13.79 a week About £717 a year: the full £241.30 a week divided by 35, for each year.
  • To get the cost back About 2.7 years How long the State Pension it adds takes to come to what was paid, before any Income Tax on it.

On 2026/27 rates, before any Income Tax on the State Pension.

Figures follow the law as it stands. Announced and draft changes are not included.

How it is worked out

  • Each year costs the weekly rate for 52 weeks: £18.40 a week for Class 3 and £3.65 for Class 2 in the 2026 to 2027 tax year. Paying for one of the most recent years can be at that year’s own rate instead; GOV.UK lists which.
  • For a record that started after April 2016, each qualifying year adds a 35th of the full new State Pension, £241.30 a week in the 2026 to 2027 tax year, up to the full rate.
  • The years to get the cost back divide the cost by the State Pension it adds, with no growth, inflation or tax.

What it leaves out

  • Whether a year would add anything. A record with years before April 2016 has its own starting amount, and someone who was contracted out may need more than 35 years. The forecast shows it.
  • Years still to come from work or National Insurance credits before State Pension age, which may fill the record anyway.
  • The minimum number of qualifying years needed for any new State Pension at all. GOV.UK gives it.
  • Deadlines: gaps can only be filled for recent tax years.
  • Income Tax on the State Pension, and how long it is paid for.

More on the assumptions behind the app’s own projection: how the retirement figures are worked out.

Questions

How do I find gaps in my National Insurance record?

The National Insurance record on GOV.UK shows each year, any gaps, and whether filling a gap would add to the State Pension. A State Pension forecast shows what the record gives now.

Source: GOV.UK

How much does a voluntary year cost?

In the 2026 to 2027 tax year, Class 3 is £18.40 a week, £956.80 for a full year, and Class 2 is £3.65 a week. Paying for one of the most recent tax years can be at that year’s own rate.

Source: GOV.UK

How far back can gaps be filled?

Usually only for recent tax years, each with its own deadline on 5 April. GOV.UK lists the deadlines, and separate rules for people living or working abroad.

Source: GOV.UK

Can voluntary contributions be paid from abroad?

For years from the 2026 to 2027 tax year, most people abroad can no longer pay Class 2, and paying Class 3 from abroad needs 10 continuous years of living in the UK or 10 qualifying years. Earlier years can still be filled under the old rules.

Source: GOV.UK

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Oxygene Finance provides information, not financial advice. Figures are estimates based on what you enter and on assumptions you can change. For decisions that matter, a regulated financial adviser or an accountant can look at your whole situation.