Boost Your State Pension: Buying Missing National Insurance Years
- Empowering Wealth Team
- Mar 6
- 4 min read
If you’re between 40 and 73 (ish), you may be able to:
Turn a single payment of ~£800 into thousands of pounds of extra State Pension.
Fill in missing National Insurance (NI) years going all the way back to 2006 (far beyond the usual six-year limit).
Potentially increase your weekly State Pension up to the full rate (currently £221.20/week).
Why Now?
The ability to plug old NI gaps ends on 5 April 2025. After that, you can normally only go back six years. So if you have missing years from 2006–2016, act soon – or you could miss out.
1) Check Your NI Record
Head to the government’s “Check your National Insurance record” service
This shows which years count as full and which have gaps. You’ll also see how much it costs to plug each gap.
2) See If You’re on Track
You usually need about 35 (sometimes more, sometimes fewer) full NI years to get the maximum State Pension. If you already have 10+ years, you qualify for some State Pension, but the more years you have, the higher your weekly amount.
If you plan to keep working, you’ll likely keep earning NI credits automatically.
If you stop work to care for children or older relatives, you might be able to claim free NI credits.
If you don’t think you’ll earn enough future years naturally or via credits, buying those missing years could be a fantastic investment.
3) Use Free Credits Where Possible
Before spending money, check if you can get credits at no cost :
Child Benefit Credits: If you or your partner was at home raising kids but the child benefit was in the other person’s name, you may be missing credits. You can often sort this out retroactively.
Grandparent Credits: If your child’s grandparents looked after them while under State Pension age, they may be able to claim NI credits (and help their own record).
Carer’s Credits: If you care for someone at least 20 hours a week, you could qualify for NI credits.
These are only some of the circumstances that are eligible for NIC credits
4) Decide If It’s Worth Paying
For many people missing years, paying to top up is a no-brainer—but it depends on your individual circumstances:
Close to or at State Pension age: Plugs pay for themselves quickly once you’re getting the higher pension.
Mid-career (say, 45 to 60): Check if you’ll earn enough NI years by continuing to work or by claiming credits. If not, paying might be smart.
Under 45: You might build up full years anyway, but it’s still worth checking for partial gaps that may be cheap to fill.
A Real-Life Example:
Below is a simplified version of how to evaluate whether to buy extra NI years - using my own NI record!
Scenario 1: Planning to Work Until At Least 65
If I keep working until 65, I’ll pay enough NI contributions to get the full State Pension, which is currently projected at £221.20/week. If I do have to take time off for childcare or to care for a relative, I’ll likely qualify for NI credits to fill those years automatically. In this scenario, it's probably not worth paying extra to fill these 2 payable gaps because I’ll earn or receive credits for all the years I need in the future.
Scenario 2: Stopping Work in 5 Years
Suppose I want to stop paying NI in five years. That might leave me short of the full 35-ish years to receive the full state pension. My projected weekly pension might instead be around £212.11—£9 less per week than the full state pension. I could pay £982.70 to fill the 2 payable gaps, boosting my pension back up by £9 per week, or £468 per year. If I start drawing my pension at 68 and live to 85, that’s roughly £8,000 in total extra income for a one-off payment now of under £1,000! But....
Am I really going to stop working entirely in five years? Because if I keep some form of work—or qualify for NI credits— i'll be making up those extra years of NIC anyway. So in my case, it's still probably not worth paying unless I genuinely plan to stop working and also don’t qualify for any free credits.
5) Special Circumstances
Lived Abroad? You can often fill NI gaps from overseas, but contact the Future Pension Centre to confirm.
Low Income or Already Retired?
If you’re under State Pension age, call the Future Pension Centre (0800 731 0175).
If you’re over State Pension age, call the Pension Service (0800 731 0469). They’ll tell you exactly how buying extra years could affect your payments.
Why This Could Be the Best Money You Ever Spend
A full year of NI can cost ~£800 to £900, but even a small weekly pension boost quickly adds up—often paying for itself in about 2–3 years of retirement. After that break-even point, you effectively earn a lifelong return.
Example: Paying £800 now might increase your State Pension by £5–£6/week (or more). That’s ~£260–£312 extra income per year, meaning you’d get your money back well before age 80, and continue benefiting after that.
Act Before 5 April 2025!
After April 2025, you’ll only be allowed to buy back up to six years of NI, meaning older gaps (2006–2016) could slip away forever. If you’re missing years and think you may not fill them automatically in the future, don’t wait—it takes time to confirm your details and make payments.
Still Unsure?
Check your NI record.
Decide if you’ll likely get enough years naturally (by working or through credits).
If not, consider voluntarily paying for the gaps.
In Summary:
Filling old NI gaps can be a game-changer for your retirement income. Even if you’re not sure you need it, it’s worth spending a little time now to avoid losing out on a potentially huge State Pension boost.
Future Pension Centre (if you’re under State Pension age): 0800 731 0175
Pension Service (if you’re already at State Pension age): 0800 731 0469
More info at MoneySavingExpert.com: Voluntary NI
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