Voluntary National Insurance contributions

What voluntary contributions cost in 2026/27

There are two classes of voluntary contribution. Class 3 is the general option, open to most people with a gap: £18.40 a week for 2026/27, which works out at £956.80 for a full year. Class 2 is much cheaper — £3.65 a week (£189.80 for a full year) — but it is restricted, mainly to self-employed people with low profits. Both classes count equally toward your State Pension: one qualifying year is one qualifying year, whichever class bought it. If you are eligible for Class 2, always check that first — the saving is over £750 a year. One change to note: from 6 April 2026, voluntary Class 2 is no longer available for periods spent living or working abroad, so expatriates filling recent years now use Class 3.

The rate you pay depends on which year you are buying. For the previous tax year (Class 2) or the previous 2 tax years (Class 3), you pay the original rate for those years — so in 2026/27 a Class 3 year costs £923.00 for 2025/26 and £907.40 for 2024/25, and £956.80 for 2020/21 to 2023/24. Your National Insurance record shows the exact amount for each year, including part years, which cost proportionally less.

What one year buys: the payback math

Each additional qualifying year adds one thirty-fifth of the full new State Pension. At 2026/27 rates that is £6.89 a week, or £358.50 a year, paid for life and uprated each April. Against a Class 3 cost of £956.80, the simple payback time is about 2 years and 8 months of State Pension before tax — and because the extra pension is itself uprated, the real payback is usually a little faster. Against a Class 2 cost of £189.80, payback is about 6 months. Over a 20-year retirement, one £956.80 year returns about £7,170 before tax and before uprating. That is why, for someone who will otherwise fall short of 35 years, voluntary contributions are often described as the best guaranteed return available — but only for a year that actually adds to the pension.

When buying a year adds nothing

GOV.UK warns plainly that voluntary contributions do not always increase your State Pension. They add nothing if you already have 35 qualifying years, or will reach 35 before State Pension age through future work. They may add nothing if you were contracted out before 2016 and the year does not lift your starting amount. They can be poor value if you expect to claim Pension Credit, because extra State Pension can reduce that benefit. And they cannot usually be refunded if you buy a year you did not need — which is why the order of operations matters: check your forecast, confirm which years would actually raise your pension, check whether free credits cover the gap, and only then pay.

Deadlines and how to pay

Gaps can normally be filled for the past 6 tax years, with a 5 April deadline each year. In 2026/27 the oldest open year is 2020/21, closing on 5 April 2027; 2025/26 stays open until 5 April 2032. You do not pay through the GOV.UK forecast service itself: you apply to HMRC, receive a letter telling you how much to pay and your payment reference, and then pay by the method in the letter. Do not send money before that letter arrives, and do not trust anyone offering to fill your gaps for a fee — the only route is HMRC.

Frequently asked questions

I have 36 qualifying years already. Should I buy another?

No. Voluntary contributions cannot take you above the full rate of the new State Pension, so a 36th year adds nothing.

Is Class 2 really as good as Class 3?

Yes, for State Pension purposes. One qualifying year counts the same whichever class bought it. Class 2 is simply restricted to people who qualify for it, mainly the self-employed with low profits.

Can I buy a year I missed 10 years ago?

Normally no. The standard window is the past 6 tax years. The extended window back to 2006 closed on 5 April 2025.