Gaps can mean you will not have enough years of National Insurance contributions to get the full State Pension. You may have gaps if you do not pay National Insurance or do not get National Insurance credits. This could be because you were:

– employed but had low earnings

– unemployed and were not claiming benefits

– self-employed but did not pay contributions because of small profits

– living abroad

You may also be eligible for National Insurance credits if you claim benefits because you cannot work, are unemployed or caring for someone full time.

You can then decide if you want to pay voluntary contributions as voluntary contributions do not always increase your State Pension. Contact the Future Pension Centre to find out if you’ll benefit from paying.

You can usually pay voluntary contributions for the past 6 years. The deadline is 5 April each year, however, the government has recently extended the deadline until 5 April 2025 to make voluntary contributions for the tax years 2016 to 2017 or 2017 to 2018.