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What are voluntary contributions?

If your work or personal situation means that you don't currently have to pay National Insurance contributions, or you are not entitled to receive National Insurance credits, you may still be able to pay voluntary contributions to fill in any gaps in your National Insurance record. Voluntary contributions count towards some state benefits and can also increase the amount of benefit you'll get.

The National Insurance contributions you can pay voluntarily are normally Class 3 contributions, but if you're self-employed or living abroad you may be able to pay Class 2 contributions voluntarily instead.

• National Insurance - the basics

When you might pay voluntary contributions

You might choose to pay National Insurance contributions voluntarily if you're:

• unemployed and not claiming benefits
• employed but you don't earn enough to pay National Insurance contributions and you don't get National Insurance credits
• self-employed and you have a 'Small Earnings Exeption certificate' that means that you don't have to pay Class 2 National Insurance contributions - follow the link below
• a married woman or widow who cancels her 'reduced rate election' part way through a tax year - follow the link below
• living abroad

• National Insurance credits

• Married women, widows and reduced National Insurance

When you can't pay Class 3 voluntary contributions

There are some circumstances when you won't be able to pay Class 3 voluntary contributions. The most usual ones are if:

• you're a married woman - or a widow - and you chose to pay reduced National Insurance contributions for the whole tax year for which you want to pay Class 3 voluntary contributions
• you reached State Pension age in the tax year for which you want to pay Class 3 voluntary contributions
• you're entitled to National Insurance credits (but there are a couple of exceptions to this)

• Married women, widows and reduced National Insurance

• National Insurance credits

How much do voluntary contributions cost?

If you want to pay voluntary National Insurance contributions for the 2012-13 tax year you'll have to pay:

• £13.25 a week for Class 3 voluntary contributions
• £2.65 a week for Class 2 contributions

If you're self-employed there are some circumstances when you won't be able to pay Class 2 contributions voluntarily - see the section below on voluntary contributions if you're self-employed.

• Check current National Insurance Contributions rates on the HMRC website Opens new window

Voluntary contributions choices if you're self-employed

If you're self-employed you can choose to pay Class 2 voluntary National Insurance contributions even if you don't have to pay them. It's normally better to pay Class 2 contributions voluntarily than to pay Class 3 voluntary contributions. It will cost you less and you'll get a wider range of state benefits.

You might choose to pay Class 2 contributions voluntarily when your earnings are low or because you work outside the UK. But there are some conditions you'll have to meet for paying Class 2 contributions voluntarily if you're working outside the UK. To find out more, follow the link under the next section 'Paying voluntary contributions for periods spent abroad'.

You can find out more about how the type of contributions you pay affects the benefits you can get in our guide on National Insurance and state benefits.

• National Insurance and state benefits

Paying voluntary contributions for periods spent abroad

You may be able to pay voluntary National Insurance contributions if you're living abroad. And you may be able to pay them for a past period when you were abroad. There are special rules for paying voluntary National Insurance contributions for periods when you're abroad. You can check the rules by following the link below.

• Voluntary National Insurance contributions if you live abroad

Do you need to top up your contributions?

If you've got gaps in your National Insurance contributions record, your entitlement to the basic State Pension and certain bereavement benefits could be affected. You may want to consider filling in the gaps by paying voluntary National Insurance contributions.

But it isn't always right or beneficial for you to pay voluntary contributions. It depends on several things, including how much you've contributed already and the date you reach State Pension age.

You can find more information to help you decide if it's worth paying voluntary contributions by following the link below.

• Do you need to top up your National Insurance contributions?

More useful links

• When and how to top up your National Insurance contributions

• National Insurance - the basics

• Employee tax and National Insurance