Voluntary NIC payments

An individual's entitlement to the State Pension is based on the number of years for which national insurance contributions have been paid during the individual's working life. Currently, the full basic State Pension is secured by a minimum of 44 years worth of contributions for men, and 39 years for women.

The forthcoming Pensions Act will, for those individuals reaching State Pension age in 2010 and after, reduce the number of years worth of contributions to 30 years for both sexes.

Whilst most will be paying compulsory national insurance contributions others, such as individuals on low incomes, those without earnings or living outside of the UK, may be paying voluntary Class 2 or Class 3 contributions in order to maximise their future State Pension entitlement.

All such persons would be advised to review their history of contributions, and to determine whether the new maximum of 30 years contribution record will be secured without the payment of further voluntary contributions.

Contributions paid unnecessarily since May 2006, when the intention to reduce the number of qualifying years to 30 was announced, are entitled to claim a refund of contributions paid voluntarily since then. The Revenue contact details and refund application form can be obtained here

An individual can obtain confirmation of their contribution history and their projected entitlement to the State Pension by contacting the Pension Service on 0845 3000 168.