Clear answers for your State Pension decisions.
Evidence-led guides for checking gaps, comparing costs and avoiding payments that may not improve your pension.
State Pension age by date of birth: when you reach 66, 67 or 68
Find your State Pension age from your date of birth: 66 now, rising to 67 for people born from 6 April 1960, with 68 legislated for 2044 to 2046.
National Insurance credits: fill gaps without paying
NI credits can fill gaps in your record for free if you claim Child Benefit, care for someone, are on Universal Credit or sick pay. Check them before paying voluntary NI.
How to check your NI record and read your State Pension forecast
Step-by-step guide to checking your National Insurance record and State Pension forecast on GOV.UK, and what 'full year', 'not a full year' and 'you can make up' mean.
Deferring your State Pension: what you get and how long it takes to pay back
Deferring the new State Pension adds 1% for every 9 weeks, just under 5.8% a year. See the 2026/27 figures, the lump-sum option and how long deferral takes to pay back.
Pension Credit 2026/27: who qualifies and how it interacts with voluntary NI
Pension Credit tops up weekly income to £238 (single) or £363.25 (couple) in 2026/27. Check eligibility, the savings rule and why voluntary NI may not help if you claim it.
Contracted out before 2016? How your starting amount and COPE work
If you were contracted out before April 2016 your State Pension starting amount may be lower, and more than 35 years may be needed. See how the starting amount, COPE and 1/35 years work.
Voluntary National Insurance contributions: the complete guide
Costs, deadlines, credits, contracted-out records, overseas rules and the exact checks to make before paying HMRC.
Voluntary Class 2 NI for the self-employed
Low profits? Fill State Pension gaps at a fraction of the Class 3 price — who qualifies and how it works.
State Pension break-even age for voluntary NI
How long a Class 2 or Class 3 year takes to pay for itself at 2026/27 rates, before and after tax.
Buying three NI gap years at age 62: break-even example
See an illustrative cost, pension uplift and after-tax break-even calculation—and the checks to make before paying.
Are voluntary National Insurance contributions worth paying?
A practical framework for deciding whether filling a gap in your National Insurance record is likely to improve your State Pension.
Why 35 qualifying years may not give you the full State Pension
Understand the 35-year headline, transitional rules and why your official State Pension forecast is the figure that matters.
Class 3 National Insurance contributions: cost and break-even
See the 2026/27 Class 3 rate, how to estimate a full-year cost and why the amount shown on your HMRC record should be used.
Voluntary NI contributions from abroad: what changed in April 2026
Class 2 for periods abroad was abolished and Class 3 eligibility tightened to 10 years - what it means and what to do next.
For employers: a separate NI planning tool
Hiring someone? The UK employer NI and employment-cost calculator separates salary, employer NI, pension and hiring overheads. It does not calculate voluntary contributions or State Pension entitlement.