What are National Insurance Credits?

National Insurance credits are used to keep your national insurance record complete in situations where you are not actively making national insurance contributions.

Claiming national insurance credits plays a crucial role in accumulating “qualifying years” that contribute to your overall entitlement to the state pension and some other benefits.

As an example building up one year of national insurance contributions could potentially result in a state pension increase of £5,000 or more throughout a typical retirement.

The NI credits count towards either class one or class three national insurance and some credits can be backdated for many years.

You can be eligible for national insurance credits for many different reasons so it’s worth checking if you qualify.

Some class 1 and class 3 credits are automatically applied to your national insurance record but some are not meaning that you need to make a claim to get them.

Who qualifies for national insurance credits?

Understanding if you qualify for national insurance credits is important so you can ensure that your national insurance record doesn’t have any avoidable gaps that could affect your state pension entitlement.

National insurance credits can only be claimed by individuals in certain circumstances including:

• If you have been claiming benefits due to ill health or unemployment.
• If you have been on maternity, paternity, or adoption pay.
• If you have been looking after a child under 12.
• If you have been on an approved training course.
• If you are married to or a civil partner of a member of the armed forces and accompanied your partner on an overseas posting.
• If you have been on jury service.
• If you have served a prison sentence for a conviction that was later overturned.

Which national insurance credits are automatically given?

Some national insurance credits don’t have to be claimed through a specific process and are automatically applied to your national insurance record by the government.

The circumstances where national insurance credits are granted and applied to your national insurance record without you needing to claim include:

Universal credit

You claim universal credit. Class 3 NI credits can be awarded.

Working tax credit

You claim working tax credit. Class 1 or 3 NI credits (depending on your situation) can be given.

Disability or a health condition

• You receive employment support allowance (ESA) you can awarded class 1 NI credits.
• You receive unemployability supplement or allowance you can receive class 1 NI credits.

Searching for employment

• You claim Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) and are not working 16 hours or more per week or in education you can be given class 1 credits.
• If you are aged 18 or over and jobcentre plus sent you on a course (approved by the government) that lasts for less than one year in total you can be awarded class 1 NI credits.

Parents

• You receive maternity allowance you can be awarded class 1 NI credits.
• You are a parent or guardian registered for child benefit for a child under the age of twelve you can be granted class 3 NI credits.

Carers

• You receive carers allowance payments you can be given class 1 NI credits.
• You receive income support and providing regular and substantial care at the same time you can be eligible for class 3 NI credits.

What national insurance credits do I have to claim?

Pension credits for class 1 and class 3 NIC’s need to be claimed in some cases and if not they won’t be applied to your national insurance record.

The circumstances where you should make a claim to receive class 1 or class 3 NI credits include:

Searching for employment

• You are unemployed, not claiming jobseekers allowance and looking for work. You should contact your local jobcentre to claim class 2 NI credits.
• You are above the age of 18 and participating in a training program that has been approved by the government. This program must not exceed a duration of one year, and it is important to note that you were not sent on the course via Jobcentre Plus.

An application for class 1 credits can be submitted in writing to: PT Operations North East England, HMRC BX9 1AN. Your application should include your NI number the dates your claim is for and information relating to your training program.

Health conditions

• You receive statutory sick pay (SSP) but don’t earn enough to make a full qualifying year for NI purposes.

You can apply for class 1 credits by writing to: PT Operations North East England, HMRC, BX9 1AN. HMRC asks you to include your national insurance number, confirm when the credits are for and explain why you feel you are entitled to make a claim.

Parents, carers and guardians

• You receive statutory maternity, paternity, additional statutory paternity pay or adoption pay and you don’t earn enough to make a full qualifying year for NI purposes.

You can make an application for class 1 credits by writing to: PT Operations North East England, HMRC, BX9 1AN. You should include your National Insurance number and an explanation on why you are eligible along with the dates of your claim.

• You want to transfer credits from your partner who received child benefit for a child under 12.

You can submit an application to transfer class 3 NI credits by completing online form CF411a.

• If you are an eligible family member (which includes grandparents) caring for a child.

You can be entitled to claim specified adult childcare class 3 credits.

• You care for a disabled or sick person for at a minimum of twenty hours per week.

Class 3 carers credits can be applied for if you don’t already claim the carers allowance, carer support payment or income support.

• You are living in Scotland and are a foster carer or kinship carer.

You can use form CF411a to submit an application to claim class 3 NI credits.

Jury duty

If you have served on a jury in court and are not self-employed you may qualify for class 1 credits.

You should submit a written application to PT Operations North East England, HMRC, BX9 1AN.

Armed forces

• You are married or a civil partner of an employee of the armed forces and you accompanied your partner on an international assignment after April 6, 2010, and you are now planning to return to the United Kingdom. Class 1 credits may be granted and can be claimed online.
• If you are married to or in a civil partnership with a member of the armed forces, and you accompanied your partner on an overseas posting after 6 April 1975, and you have reached state pension age on or after 6 April 2016, and you are not receiving class 1 credits, then you may be eligible for class 3 credits.

How do I check my national insurance record?

Checking your national insurance record is recommended to ensure there are no gaps and you are claiming any available NI credits.

You have the option to access your national insurance record online where you can review the following key information:

• Any national insurance credits that have already been credited to you.
• The NI payments you have made up until the beginning of the current tax year.
• Check for any gaps in NI contributions or credits that may affect the counting of years towards your state pension entitlement (referred to as “qualifying years”).
• Determining if you are eligible to make voluntary NI contributions to fill in any gaps and understanding the associated costs.

You can also request a postal version of your national insurance statement by requesting one online via your personal tax account or by calling 0300 200 3500.

To access your national insurance record you’ll need to log in to your personal tax account using your government gateway user ID and password.

If you don’t have a personal tax account yet, you’ll need to create one by obtaining a Government Gateway user ID and password.

You can create a government gateway user ID when you sign in for the first time.

How to contact the national insurance office

HMRC gives you a number of ways to contact them if you need support with your national insurance record.

For questions about class 1, 2 and 3 national insurance including national insurance credits you can contact HMRC online, by phone or in writing.

National insurance online:

To review your national insurance record online you can use your personal tax account.

You can also check your state pension position online by getting a forecast.

HMRC also has a digital assistant that can answer many common national insurance related questions.

National insurance enquiries phone line:

0300 200 3500 or + 44 191 203 7010 from outside UK from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday.

In writing:

PT Operations North East England, HMRC BX9 1AN.