State Pension

Contribution criteria:

To receive any state pension a person needs 10 years of National Insurance contributions. 35 years of National Insurance Contributions are required to qualify for the full state pension, (presently worth £230.25 a week in 2025-26).

How much do voluntary National Insurance contributions cost?

The cost for voluntary contributions will depend on when the gaps occurred and whether the individual was self-employed or not in the year where a top-up is being made. The standard cost of buying Class 3 National Insurance contributions is £17.75 per week in the 2025-26 tax year. £923.00 for an entire year.

How much could topping up be worth?

The longer a person survives and is drawing their state pension then the greater the amount of benefit is obtained from undertaking the topping up exercise. The bigger the pension contribution shortfall then the longer the person will need to be drawing the state pension to see the benefits. Also it should be borne in mind that voluntary contributions don’t always increase the state pension and therefore it is important to request a forecast to check whether top-ups re worth it.

Request a State Pension Forecast

Before making voluntary National Insurance Contributions, individuals should review their state pension forecast. This forecast will help determine: how much state pension will be paid when it will be paid from, and how to increase it, if possible. A forecast can be obtained at this link: state pension forecast online at GOV.UK (link to https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension). This service requires the individual to use their Government Gateway login credentials.