Missing qualifying years in your NI record, or 'gaps', can reduce the amount of contributory benefits you are entitled to. This includes maternity pay, employment allowance, the state pension and others.

Gaps can occur for many reasons, even where the individual believes they have done everything correctly. In 2023 it came to light that taxpayers who had signed up for child benefit prior to May 2000 and did not provide their NI number on the claim were left with years missing from their NI record due to home responsibilities protection not being applied correctly.

A further issue arose in February 2024 when an HMRC processing delay caused thousands of voluntary Class 2 NI contributions (NIC) to be rejected and refunded in error.

There are many other reasons why Class 2 NIC may be rejected, for example if payment is made after the self assessment deadline; or if the individual was already enrolled in self assessment for another reason before becoming self-employed and the change was not properly registered for NI purposes.

Employed taxpayers can also be left with unexpected NI gaps, for example if the form that employers use to report the pay and tax details of their employees to HMRC is not posted correctly or contains errors.

Usually, voluntary payments can be made to boost your state pension entitlement and other contributory benefits by plugging NI gaps for the previous six tax years. Currently, HMRC is accepting payments to fill any gaps as far back as 6.4.06.

The deadline for making extended back payments is 5.4.25, less than six months away, after which the standard six-year limit will apply. It is vital that you check your NI record and state pension forecast while there is still time to replenish any missing years. You can do this online or via the HMRC app.

Agents do not have access to a client's NI record, but if you identify any gaps we can explain the options open to you and how to make voluntary payments.