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Pensions & money · UK guide · 2026/27

Gaps in your NI record — when filling one is worth it (and the free fix first).

Last verified 11 Jun 2026 · Source GOV.UK voluntary NI + HMRC 2026/27 rates + MoneyHelper · Publisher: CA Capital Limited (company no. 10848369)

Years out of work, caring, abroad or earning little leave gaps in your National Insurance record — and a missing year can shrink your State Pension, but not always: once you have 35 qualifying years, or if your forecast shows a year would not count, buying it adds nothing. Where a year does count, a full year costs £956.80 (Class 3, 2026/27) and can add up to £6.89 a week — £358 a year to your State Pension, repaying the cost in under three years of retirement. But don’t pay yet: many gaps can be filled free with credits you never claimed, and some paid years add nothing. Here’s the order to do it in.

£956.80One full Class 3 year (2026/27)
up to £358/yrWhat a year that counts can add
<3 yearsPayback if the year counts and you live past pension age
6 yearsHow far back you can fill — rolls each April
The free fills first → State Pension basics & rates

Step one: see your record — free, 5 minutes

  • The HMRC app or your Personal Tax Account on GOV.UK shows every tax year of your NI record and flags the incomplete ones.
  • The free GOV.UK State Pension forecast shows what you’re on track for. Most people need 35 qualifying years for the full new State Pension (£241.30/week in 2026/27) — but if your record started before April 2016, contracting-out and transitional rules can change that number, so your forecast is the only reliable guide. At least 10 years are needed for anything.
  • Decades from retirement with a few gaps? You may simply fill the 35 naturally — which is exactly why you check before paying.

Step two: claim the free fills

Before spending £956.80 on a year, check whether Britain owed you that year for free:

  • Child Benefit years — claiming for a child under 12 earns NI credits automatically. High earner who opted out of payments? Claim at the zero rate — the credits still count.
  • Specified Adult Childcare credits — grandparents (and other family) who mind a child under 12 while the parent works can have the parent’s spare credit transferred to them — backdatable for years. One of Britain’s least-claimed entitlements.
  • Carer’s Credit — caring 20+ hours a week protects the year even when Carer’s Allowance isn’t payable.
  • Benefit-linked credits — UC, JSA, ESA and Maternity Allowance all carry credits automatically; check those years actually show as complete.
A free credit beats a bought year, every time Each route above fills the same gap the £956.80 payment would — for nothing. Work through them first; many “gaps” turn out to be unclaimed credits.

Step three: buy only the years that count

Route2026/27 costWho
Class 3 voluntary£18.40/week — £956.80 a full yearMost people filling gaps
Class 2 voluntaryA small fraction of Class 3 — check the current rateSelf-employed (incl. some past self-employed years & some working abroad)
  1. Ring the Future Pension Centre first — 0800 731 0175. Some gap years won’t increase your pension at all (old contracting-out, or you’ll hit 35 years anyway). They’ll tell you exactly which years add money. This call is the difference between a brilliant purchase and a wasted one.
  2. Pay through the GOV.UK voluntary-NI service only — it takes payment and allocates it to the right years.
  3. Mind the rolling window: you can normally only fill the last 6 tax years, and one drops off every 6 April (the special window back to 2006 closed in April 2025). If a valuable year is near the edge, do that one first.
Two traps (1) Paying for dead years — never buy without the forecast + Future Pension Centre confirmation. (2) Cold calls — HMRC and the DWP never phone selling pension top-ups; anyone who does is a scammer. Everything happens on GOV.UK or numbers you dialled yourself (check anything suspicious).
Do this now

Tonight, free: open the HMRC app → NI record, and run the State Pension forecast. Note any incomplete years and which free credits above might cover them.

Gaps left that matter? 0800 731 0175 before paying a penny — then pay only the confirmed years, oldest valuable one first.

Worked example — the honest maths One bought year: £956.80 once → +£6.89/week = £358.28/year of State Pension, every year of retirement, uprated by the triple lock. Live 20 years past pension age and that single year returns roughly £7,000+ on a £956.80 outlay. Few investments in Britain come close — which is exactly why checking it’s a year that counts matters so much.
Related guides How National Insurance works State Pension rates & rules Underpaid State Pension? (incl. HRP) Pension Credit Carer’s Credit Trace lost pensions
Source verification Primary source: GOV.UK voluntary National Insurance + HMRC 2026/27 rates + MoneyHelper · gov.uk/voluntary-national-insurance-contributions. Last verified 11 June 2026. Confidence: High — published rates; per-year value capped at £6.89/wk (arithmetic: £241.30 ÷ 35). Key facts: Class 3 £18.40/wk = £956.80/yr (2026/27) · +£6.89/wk (£358/yr) per qualifying year · 6-year rolling window · free credits (CB years, Specified Adult Childcare, Carer’s Credit, benefit-linked) · Future Pension Centre 0800 731 0175 check first. Scope: UK-wide.

NI gaps — common questions

How much does a missing year cost to fill?

£956.80 at the 2026/27 Class 3 rate (£18.40/week) — less for partly filled years, and far less via Class 2 if you're self-employed. A bought year that counts adds up to £6.89/week (£358/year) of pension for life — check your forecast first, because some years add nothing.

How do I check my record?

Free in the HMRC app or your Personal Tax Account (year-by-year record with gaps flagged) plus the GOV.UK State Pension forecast. 35 qualifying years usually gives the full new State Pension if your record started after April 2016; if you paid National Insurance before April 2016, contracting-out and transitional rules can mean a different number, so your forecast is the only reliable guide. 10 years is the minimum for anything.

Not sure which gaps matter? The State Pension gaps guide shows how to read the forecast and which missing years are worth filling.

Should I fill every gap?

No — claim free credits first (Child Benefit years, grandparent childcare credits, Carer's Credit, benefit-linked), then ring the Future Pension Centre (0800 731 0175): some years add nothing and they'll tell you which ones count.

What's the deadline?

Normally the last 6 tax years, with one dropping off every 6 April — so a valuable year near the edge is the one to do first. The extended window to 2006 closed in April 2025.

Someone phoned offering a pension top-up — legit?

No — HMRC and the DWP never sell top-ups by phone. It's a scam pattern; hang up and use GOV.UK directly.

Sources: Voluntary contributions, the 6-year window and payment routes · GOV.UK voluntary NI. Class 3 rate £18.40/wk (2026/27) · HMRC NI rates. Per-year value up to £6.89/wk · arithmetic on the 2026/27 full new State Pension (£241.30 ÷ 35, as verified for the State Pension guide) + MoneyHelper + Which?. Free credits (Child Benefit, Specified Adult Childcare, Carer’s Credit) · GOV.UK NI credits. Check-first · Future Pension Centre 0800 731 0175. SortedUK is not HMRC/DWP and this is general information, not financial advice. Last reviewed: 11 June 2026.

Five minutes in the HMRC app. Decades of difference.

See the record, claim the free credits, ring before you buy — and only ever pay for years that count. Pension gaps, lost pots, unclaimed credits — check the whole picture in minutes.

Check my NI record (GOV.UK) → Find what I’m missing
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