Will you get a full state pension?

If you are looking forward to retirement, it’s a good idea to check out how much state pension you will get. You can do this by logging on to your personal tax account on gov.uk, which contains lots of useful information about how much tax you owe and about your National Insurance Contributions (NICs) record, amongst other things.

Check your National Insurance record – GOV.UK

To receive the full amount of the state pension, your NICs record needs to contain 35 completed years. You need at least ten complete NICs years to receive any amount of the UK state retirement pension.

• You can plug gaps in your NICs record by paying voluntary Class 3 NICs. This payment generally needs to be made within six years of the gap year.  However, currently there is a dispensation that allows women born after 5 April 1953 and men born after 5 April 1951 to complete gaps in their NICs records right back to 6 April 2006. You can pay the voluntary NICs at the 2022/23 rate of £15.85 per week instead of the current rate of £17.45 per week. This opportunity to make up these old years with voluntary NICs payments closes on 5 April 2025, so those who wish to do so need to take urgent action.

• For 2024/25, where profits are above £6,725 (rising to £6,845 in 2025/26), no Class 2 NICs are payable by self-employed traders, but the trader still gets a NICs credit. Self-employed traders whose profits are below this figure can choose to pay Class 2 voluntarily instead of Class 3; paying Class 2 NICs will be cheaper.

• You may also qualify for NICs credits for some years if you were claiming state benefits, Child Benefit or were a foster carer. These NICs credits were not always applied automatically, so it is worth checking your own NICs record in your personal tax account

The information in this blog provides only an overview of HMRC guidance and legislation in force at the date of publication and no action should be taken without consulting the detailed HMRC guidance and legislation or seeking professional advice.  Therefore no responsibility for loss occasioned by any person acting or refraining from action as a result of the material contained in this blog can be accepted by the firm.