Who's behind it
I'm an ACA affiliate with more than nine years' experience working in accounting and finance. I built this calculator after seeing how often the "should I pay voluntary NI?" question comes up - and how little the official tools do to actually help someone weigh the cost against the likely benefit in plain terms.
What this is, and isn't
This is an independent, free tool. It is not affiliated with HMRC, the Department for Work and Pensions, or the Future Pension Centre. It doesn't replace your official State Pension forecast or a conversation with the Future Pension Centre before you pay anything.
It's designed to help you understand the shape of the decision - the likely cost, the likely uplift, and roughly how long it takes to break even - so that when you do check your official figures, you already know what questions to ask.
How it's built
The calculator runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type into it - your age, your qualifying years, your forecast - is sent to a server or stored anywhere. You can read exactly how the figures are calculated on the methodology page.
Get in touch
If something on the site is unclear, looks wrong, or you think a rule has changed and the calculator hasn't caught up - I'd genuinely like to know. See the contact page for details.