Gaps in your NI contribution history can have a detrimental effect on your state retirement pension rights. Some people may believe they have accumulated enough qualifying years for full entitlement, when in reality there are gaps. These could be due to breaks between employment, insufficient NI being paid due to part time work etc.
To rectify this, you can fill gaps by making voluntary Class 3 payments. Usually, you can only do this for the past six years, however, it’s currently possible to make contributions for years right back to April 2006. This opportunity was due to end on 5 April 2023, but the government extended this to 31 July 2023 back in March. They have now extended the window again to 5 April 2025.
You can check how many qualifying years you have by getting a state pension forecast at https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension
Should you need to make up any gaps in your qualifying years you would pay this at the Class 3 rate for 2022/23, which was £15.85 per week.
If you would like to discuss further please get in touch with your usual Drummond Laurie contact or contact us hello@drummondlaurie.co.uk
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