It may be possible that your State Pension forecast is affected by the new National Insurance (NI) rules. Hence, you will need to find out about the new rules for topping up your NI contributions, reduced rate NI and when you have to pay NI. Further information and help can be had from HM Revenue & Customs.


From 6 April 2009, new rules allow you to pay additional Voluntary Class 3 NI contributions. This can help you to top up your contributions towards your State Pension. You can do this for any six years from 6 April 1975, if you reach State Pension age between 6 April 2008 and 5 April 2015, or you already have 20 qualifying years including years of Home Responsibilities Protection.

Even if you already have enough qualifying years to get a full basic State Pension, you have to pay National Insurance until you reach your State Pension Age if you work for an employer and your wages are above a certain level, and you are self-employed and do not have a small-earnings exemption certificate.

You can decide to stop paying NI contributions if you are paying voluntary National Insurance contributions because you are not working, and you have enough qualifying years to get a full basic State Pension. If you stop paying voluntary NI contributions, this may affect any bereavement benefit that your widow, widower or surviving civil partner is entitled to.

You will need to have enough qualifying years in your working life to give your widow, widower or surviving civil partner full rate bereavement benefit. This is normally about 90 per cent of the qualifying years in your working life.In the past, married women and some widows could choose to pay a reduced rate of National Insurance contributions as an employee, or choose not to pay Class 2 National Insurance contributions when self-employed. This was called the married women’s or widow’s election. Although this stopped in 1977, women who were already paying the reduced rate could continue to do so.

Reduced rate contributions do not count towards the State Pension, and you can’t get Home Responsibilities Protection for any period covered by a Married Women’s or Widow’s Election. You will stop paying reduced rates if you get divorced or your marriage is officially cancelled, stop being entitled to certain bereavement benefits, or ask to stop paying the reduced rate.

You will also stop paying reduced rates if for two tax years in a row you have not earned enough to pay, or been treated as paying, National Insurance contributions as an employee, or not been self-employed.