National Insurance after state pension age
You pay National Insurance contributions (NICs) to build up your entitlement to certain state benefits, including the state pension. Here we look at what happens to your National Insurance payments once you reach state pension age.
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National Insurance once you reach state pension age
If you stop working when you reach state pension age, you will not have any earned income, and you will not have to pay National Insurance contributions. However, you might continue to work, and therefore we set out how the different classes of National Insurance contributions are impacted by reaching state pension age.
Class 1 National Insurance
If you are an employee, you normally pay class 1 National Insurance.
However, as soon as you reach state pension age, you stop paying class 1 National Insurance if you carry on working as an employee. You only have to pay class 1 contributions on any earnings that were due to be paid to you before you reached state pension age.
If you stay in employment after state pension age, you can show your employer proof of your age (birth certificate or passport) so that they stop taking National Insurance from your wages.
Your employer still has to pay class 1 employer National Insurance if you continue working as an employee beyond your state pension age. Although this amount may appear on your payslip, it should not be a deduction from your pay.
Class 2 National Insurance
As discussed on our page National Insurance for the self-employed class 2 contributions are no longer payable from the 2024/25 tax year onwards. However, you may still be ‘treated as having paid’ class 2 Contributions for all weeks up until you reach state pension age, provided your self-employed profit is more than the small profit threshold of £7,105 (2026/27 tax year). Class 2 contributions will no longer be ‘treated as paid’ once you reach state pension age.
Some people with self-employed income less than the small profit threshold choose to pay class 2 contributions voluntarily. You cannot pay voluntary class 2 National Insurance contributions in respect of a period that falls after you have reached state pension age, but see the heading below covering situations where you can make backdated voluntary contributions.
Class 3 National Insurance
Class 3 National Insurance contributions are voluntary contributions that you might pay to ensure you gain a qualifying year for your National Insurance record. For example, you might choose to pay Class 3 contributions if you are not paying sufficient contributions through work, nor are you receiving National Insurance credits. You can read more about class 3 contributions in our page National Insurance.
You cannot pay voluntary class 3 National Insurance contributions in respect of a period after you have reached state pension age but see heading below for situations where you can make backdated voluntary National Insurance contributions.
Class 4 National Insurance
If you are self-employed you might also pay class 4 National Insurance. Whether you have to pay class 4 contributions depends on your level of self-employment profits.
Class 4 National Insurance contributions are paid as an annual charge. This means you might still have to pay them on any taxable profits for the whole tax year in which you reach state pension age. You will be exempt from paying class 4 National Insurance from the beginning of the following tax year.
In other words, you stop paying class 4 National Insurance from the start of the tax year after the one in which you reach state pension age.
Backdated voluntary National Insurance contributions
Once you reach state pension age you are no longer entitled to pay voluntary contributions. However, you may be able to make contributions for tax years prior to reaching state pension age. This might be worthwhile if you do not have enough qualifying years to gain the full entitlement to state pension. you can read more about this on our page National Insurance and the state pension.
You can only make backdated voluntary contributions in respect of six previous tax years. If you wish to make backdated contributions but have already reached state pension age, you should contact the Pension Service to discuss your options.
Overpaid National Insurance
You might find that you overpay National Insurance in certain circumstances, including if, in error, you continue to pay National Insurance contributions once you have reached your state pension age. If you think this might apply to you look at our page National Insurance.
