Class 3 Voluntary National Insurance Contributions Complete Guide 2026/27
Class 3 voluntary NI 2026/27: £18.40 a week to top up your State Pension. Who can pay, the 6-year deadline, and whether it is worth it.
The 30-second summary
Class 3 voluntary National Insurance contributions let you "buy" extra qualifying years toward your State Pension. For 2026/27:
- Cost: £18.40/week = £956.80 for a full tax year
- What you get: where your pension follows the 1/35 rule, 1/35th of the full new State Pension added to your weekly payment for life
- Cash return: ~£358.50/year of State Pension per full year bought, at today's rate
- Payback period: about 2.7 years from State Pension age
- Illustrative 20-year value: ~£7,170 (20 years of receipt at today's rate, no increases assumed)
Voluntary contributions do not always increase your State Pension, for example if you were contracted out (gov.uk). Check your forecast before paying.
Who needs Class 3 voluntary NI?
You usually need at least 10 qualifying years to receive any new State Pension, and 35 for the full amount (more if you were contracted out before 2016). gov.uk lists these common reasons for gaps:
- Employed but with low earnings
- Unemployed and not claiming benefits
- Getting National Insurance credits for less than a full tax year
- Self-employed but did not pay contributions because of small profits (below £7,105 in 2026/27)
- Living or working outside the UK
Before paying, check whether you are eligible for National Insurance credits - for example for caring, illness or unemployment - which could fill the gap for free. Who can pay Class 3 (gov.uk, section 2): employees earning under £129 a week who are not eligible for credits; unemployed people not claiming benefits or getting credits; self-employed people with gross income of £1,000 or less or profits below £7,105; and people over State Pension age.
How much does it cost?
Class 3 rates are set for each tax year (HMRC rates and allowances):
| Tax year | Weekly rate | Annual cost (52 weeks) |
|---|---|---|
| 2023/24 | £17.45 | £907.40 |
| 2024/25 | £17.45 | £907.40 |
| 2025/26 | £17.75 | £923.00 |
| 2026/27 | £18.40 | £956.80 |
Which rate you pay depends on how far back the gap is. Paying in 2026/27 for either of the previous 2 tax years, you pay the original rate for that year; for any earlier year you pay the 2026/27 rate (gov.uk). A gap of less than a full year costs the number of missing weeks × the weekly rate: 26 weeks at the 2026/27 rate is £478.40. Your National Insurance record shows the exact amount for each gap.
What you gain: the State Pension maths
The full new State Pension for 2026/27 is £241.30 per week = £12,548 per year. Where your pension follows the 1/35 rule, each qualifying year is worth 1/35th of it:
- Weekly addition per year: £6.89
- Annual addition per year: £358.50
- Cost-to-benefit: £956.80 cost / £358.50 a year = 2.7 year payback
The new State Pension increases each year by whichever is highest of average earnings growth, CPI inflation or 2.5% (gov.uk). The figures on this page use today's rate and assume no increase, so they understate the cash value of a year bought if the pension keeps rising.
Worked example: a 5-year top-up
Sarah took a career break from 2020/21 to 2024/25 with no earnings, no benefits and no National Insurance credits, so those five tax years are full-year gaps. She has 25 qualifying years and expects to add 5 more by working until State Pension age, which would leave her on 30. She was never contracted out, and her forecast confirms that each extra year would add 1/35 of the full rate. She pays during 2026/27.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2020/21 to 2023/24 (older than 2 years, so 2026/27 rate: 4 × £956.80) | £3,827.20 |
| 2024/25 (within the previous 2 years, so original rate: 52 × £17.45) | £907.40 |
| Total cost | £4,734.60 |
| Extra State Pension (5 × £6.89 a week) | £34.47 a week / £1,792.51 a year |
| Payback period | ~2.6 years from State Pension age |
| 20 years of receipt at today's rate (no increases assumed) | ~£35,850 |
| Net over 20 years (value - cost) | ~£31,116 |
The five years take Sarah from 30 to 35 qualifying years. Her £4,734.60 buys about £35,850 of State Pension over 20 years of receipt at today's rate - roughly 7.6× the cost. Two deadlines matter: the 2020/21 gap must be paid by 5 April 2027, and the 2024/25 gap is only charged at £17.45 a week while it is one of the previous 2 tax years, which is until 5 April 2027. If she expected to reach 35 years through work anyway, none of these payments would add anything.
How to check your NI record + decide what to pay
- Go to gov.uk/check-state-pension and sign in to see your State Pension forecast and National Insurance record.
- Look for gaps, what each would cost to fill, whether paying would benefit you, and whether you can pay online.
- Check whether National Insurance credits could fill any gap for free.
- If you are below State Pension age, the Future Pension Centre (0800 731 0175) can tell you whether paying will benefit you; over State Pension age, contact the Pension Service (0800 731 0469).
- Decide which years to fill:
- Gaps from either of the previous 2 tax years = charged at their original rate
- Older gaps within the 6-year window = charged at the current rate
- Gaps more than 6 tax years back = past the deadline and cannot be paid
- If you will reach 35 years (or your forecast's maximum) through work or credits anyway = a voluntary year adds nothing
How to pay Class 3
The payment routes gov.uk lists (Pay voluntary Class 3 National Insurance):
- Online through the Check your State Pension forecast service: only if you are below State Pension age and working in the UK. You cannot use it if you are self-employed or have lived or worked abroad. Your record updates within up to 5 working days.
- Online banking or bank transfer: sort code 08 32 20, account number 12001004, account name HMRC NIC Receipts. Use your 18-digit reference number from HMRC's payment request (it begins 60 for one-off payments and 11 for quarterly payments). If you do not have one, get it through the forecast service, ask HMRC online, or phone the National Insurance enquiries line. Payments from an overseas account use the international details on gov.uk and a reference made of your National Insurance number, "IC", your surname and your initial.
- At your bank or building society: by cash or cheque, with the payslip HMRC sent with your payment request. Make cheques payable to "HM Revenue and Customs only" and write the 18-digit reference on the back.
- By cheque through the post: to HM Revenue and Customs, National Insurance Contributions and Employer Office, BX5 5BD, with the HMRC payslip and the 18-digit reference written on the back of the cheque. It must reach HMRC by the 5 April deadline.
- Regular payments: monthly Direct Debit (current and future tax years only) or quarterly payments, set up with form CA5603.
gov.uk warns that with the wrong reference number your payment "may be delayed or used to pay a different tax bill that you owe". Apart from the forecast service, allow up to 8 weeks for your record to update.
Class 1, 2, 3, 4 NI - what's the difference?
| Class | Who pays | 2026/27 rate | Builds State Pension? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Employed (PAYE) | 8% / 2% | Yes, on earnings at or above the Lower Earnings Limit |
| Class 1A | Employer on BIK | 15% | No (employer only) |
| Class 2 | Self-employed (profits of £7,105 or more) | Treated as paid (nothing to pay) | Yes (automatic) |
| Class 2 voluntary | Self-employed below £7,105 (optional) | £3.65/week | Yes (if voluntarily paid) |
| Class 3 voluntary | Eligible people with NI gaps | £18.40/week | Yes |
| Class 4 | Self-employed (profits above £12,570) | 6% / 2% | No |
Class 1A follows the employer (secondary) Class 1 rate (SSCBA 1992 s.10(5); HMRC rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027). Class 2 treated as paid and the voluntary rate: gov.uk self-employed National Insurance rates.
Deadlines and timing
Standard rule: you can only pay voluntary contributions for the past 6 tax years, and the deadline is 5 April each year.
- In 2026/27 you can fill gaps from 2020/21 onwards, as well as the current year.
- 2020/21 deadline: 5 April 2027. After that, 2020/21 can no longer be paid.
- A transitional arrangement let the new State Pension cohort (men born after 5 April 1951, women born after 5 April 1953) fill gaps from April 2006 onwards. Its original 5 April 2023 deadline was extended to 31 July 2023 and then to 5 April 2025 (HMRC and DWP, 12 June 2023). It has closed.
If you have a 2020/21 gap you need, you have until 5 April 2027 to pay it.
Related pages
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Class 3 voluntary NI contribution cost in 2026/27?
Class 3 NI is £18.40 per week for 2026/27, which is £956.80 for a full 52-week tax year. Earlier rates were £17.45 in 2023/24 and 2024/25 and £17.75 in 2025/26. If you pay for either of the previous 2 tax years you pay that year's original rate; for any earlier year you pay the 2026/27 rate.
Is Class 3 worth paying? What's the ROI?
Where your pension follows the 1/35 rule, each full qualifying year adds 1/35 of the full new State Pension (£241.30 a week in 2026/27): about £6.89 a week or £358.50 a year, for life from State Pension age. A year at £956.80 therefore pays back in about 2.7 years of receipt. gov.uk warns that voluntary contributions do not always increase your State Pension, for example if you were contracted out, so check your forecast first.
Who is eligible to pay Class 3 voluntary NI?
You need a gap in your National Insurance record that is within the payment deadline. gov.uk says employees can pay Class 3 if they earn less than £129 a week and are not eligible for National Insurance credits; unemployed people can if they are not claiming benefits or getting credits; self-employed people can if their gross income is £1,000 or less or their profits are below £7,105. People over State Pension age can also pay Class 3. For time abroad from 2026/27 onwards you need 10 years in a row of UK residence or 10 years of qualifying contributions.
What's the deadline to top up old NI years?
You can only pay voluntary contributions for the past 6 tax years, and the deadline is 5 April each year. In 2026/27 that means gaps from 2020/21 onwards, and the 2020/21 gap must be paid by 5 April 2027. The transitional arrangement that let the new State Pension cohort fill gaps from April 2006 onwards closed on 5 April 2025.
How do I check my National Insurance record?
Use the Check your State Pension forecast service at gov.uk/check-state-pension, which shows your National Insurance record. gov.uk says checking your record tells you if you have any gaps, how much it will cost to pay voluntary contributions, if you will benefit from paying and if you can pay online. Check whether you are eligible for National Insurance credits too, which could fill a gap for free.
Class 3 vs Class 2 - which should I pay?
If you are self-employed with profits below the Small Profits Threshold of £7,105, or gross self-employed income of £1,000 or less, gov.uk says you can pay Class 2 or Class 3. Class 2 is £3.65 a week (£189.80 a year) against Class 3's £18.40, so where you have the choice Class 2 costs about a fifth as much for the same State Pension qualifying year. Employees on low pay and people not working can only pay Class 3, and for time abroad from 2026/27 onwards voluntary Class 2 is not available.
Can I get a refund if I overpay?
Only in limited cases. HMRC says you may be entitled to a refund if you think you made an error when the payment was made, but not if the error relates to a change of circumstances after the payment. There is no form: you write to PT Operations North East England, HM Revenue and Customs, BX9 1AN, giving your name, address, National Insurance number, why you want a refund and the tax years, and should apply within 6 years of the tax year concerned.
How long do I need to wait to see the State Pension increase?
gov.uk says your National Insurance record is updated within up to 5 working days if you pay online through the Check your State Pension forecast service, and up to 8 weeks for other payment methods (longer for payments from outside the UK). The extra pension itself is paid from State Pension age. If you have already reached State Pension age, contact the Pension Service before paying to find out whether you will benefit.
Does the spouse rule still work?
Class 3A contributions (Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 s.14A) were not a spouse scheme. They paid for the State Pension top up, open until 5 April 2017 to people entitled to a State Pension before 6 April 2016, which bought between £1 and £25 a week of extra State Pension. Ordinary Class 3 builds your own National Insurance record only. Some people can inherit or increase State Pension through a spouse or civil partner under separate rules; gov.uk explains these on its new State Pension pages.
Should I pay Class 3 if I have a workplace pension?
Having a workplace pension does not stop you paying Class 3 - the two are separate. The State Pension depends on your National Insurance record; a workplace pension depends on what you and your employer paid in. The exception is contracting out: if your workplace scheme was contracted out before April 2016, an amount is taken off your new State Pension and a voluntary year may add less than it would otherwise. Your State Pension forecast shows your actual position.