It is recommended to check your National Insurance record as this can affect your future entitlement to the State Pension and other benefits.

By using the online service, you can see what National Insurance contributions you have paid up to the start of the current tax year, along with any National Insurance credits you have received. The record also highlights whether there are gaps in your contribution history. This will highlight tax years that do not count as qualifying years for State Pension purposes. These gaps can arise for a variety of reasons, such as periods of low earnings, time spent working abroad or career breaks.

The service also shows whether you are eligible to make voluntary National Insurance contributions to fill any missing years and how much this would cost. Importantly, it allows you to see how your State Pension forecast could change if you decide to make those additional contributions, helping you decide whether paying voluntarily contributions would be beneficial.

Employees with a second job, third job or more may be able to defer or delay paying Class 1 National Insurance on their additional employment. This deferment can be requested when Class 1 National Insurance contributions are being paid to more than one employer.

If you have 2 jobs, over the tax year you’ll need to earn:

• £967 or more per week from one job over the tax year.
• £242 or more per week in your second job

If you have more than 2 jobs, over the tax year you’ll need to earn:

• £1,209 or more per week from 2 of those jobs
• £242 or more per week in your other jobs

This deferral could result in NIC deductions at a reduced rate of 2% on your weekly earnings between £242 and £967 in one of your jobs, instead of the standard rate of 8%.

If you are allowed to defer, HMRC will inform you which employer is your main one for full Class 1 National Insurance contributions and which employers you can pay at the reduced 2% rate, sending those employers a certificate of deferment. HMRC does not share information about your other jobs with your employers.

HMRC will check if you have paid enough National Insurance at the end of the tax year and will write to you if you owe anything.

Claiming Child Benefit can provide an important benefit by granting National Insurance credits.

If you claim Child Benefit and your child is under 12, you will automatically receive National Insurance credits. This in turn will protect your contribution record during periods of home responsibility.

The child benefit rates for the only or eldest child in a family is currently a weekly amount of £26.05 and the weekly rate for all other children is £17.25. Child Benefit is usually paid every 4 weeks. There is no limit to how many children parents can claim for.

These credits are important because they count towards your State Pension, ensuring that there are no gaps in your National Insurance record. This is particularly valuable if you are not working or if you are not earning enough to pay National Insurance contributions, as it helps build your entitlement to a State Pension.

However, if you do not need the National Insurance credits yourself, your family may still be able to benefit. In such cases, your husband, wife, or partner can apply to transfer the credits to themselves. Alternatively, if another family member is providing care for your child, they can apply for Specified Adult Childcare credits to ensure they also receive the National Insurance credits. This system allows families to protect their State Pension entitlements, even if one parent or caregiver is not earning an income.

The High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) currently applies to taxpayers whose income exceeds £60,000 in a tax year and who are in receipt of Child Benefit. The HICBC is charged at the rate of 1% of the full Child Benefit award for each £200 of income between £60,000 and £80,000. For taxpayers with income above £80,000 the amount of the charge will equal the amount of Child Benefit received.

Taxpayers can choose whether to continue receiving Child Benefit and pay the charge or opt out of receiving it to avoid the charge altogether. It is usually beneficial to claim Child Benefit as doing so can safeguard the National Insurance credits and also ensure your child automatically receives a National Insurance number at or just before they turn 16 years old.

If you are self-employed and your profits are above £12,570, you may need to pay Class 4 National Insurance, so it is important to understand how the rates and rules apply to you.

Self-employed individuals are usually required to pay Class 4 National Insurance contributions (NICs) if their annual profits exceed £12,570. These contributions are calculated based on profits and are used to fund various state benefits, including the state pension, unemployment benefits and the National Health Service (NHS).

For the current 2025-26 tax year, Class 4 NIC rates are set at 6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270, with an additional 2% charged on profits above £50,270.

Certain groups are exempt from paying Class 4 NICs, including:

• Individuals under 16 at the start of the tax year.
• Individuals over State Pension age at the start of the tax year. If someone reaches State Pension age during the tax year, they remain liable for Class 4 NICs for the entire tax year.
• Trustees and guardians of incapacitated individuals are exempt from paying Class 4 NICs on that income.

The Class 4 NIC rate is lower than the corresponding rate for employees, who pay 8% on the same income levels. Both employees and the self-employed contribute 2% on income above the higher rate threshold.

The majority of individuals pay Class 4 National Insurance via self-assessment.

Did you know a missing Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) record could reduce your State Pension, but you may still have time to put it right.

Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) was a scheme designed to help individuals, mainly those with caring responsibilities, to build entitlement to the basic State Pension by reducing the number of qualifying years required. HRP applied between 6 April 1978 and 5 April 2010, after which it was replaced by National Insurance (NI) credits.

Although most eligible individuals received HRP automatically during that period, some cases were missed. It’s still possible to apply for HRP retrospectively if it’s missing from your NI record. This is particularly relevant for women at or near State Pension age, especially those who took extended time off work to raise children. A missing HRP record could affect your State Pension entitlement, although not always.

Those affected should check their NI records for gaps and could potentially increase their State Pension at no cost. If a claim is successful, HMRC will update the NI record, and the DWP will recalculate the State Pension amount. This could lead to an increase in the State pension, though in some cases, it may remain unchanged.

Currently, HRP applications are taking over 3 months to process. For the most recent processing times and to check the status of an existing claim you can visit the official HMRC guidance page at www.gov.uk/guidance/check-when-you-can-expect-a-reply-from-hmrc