Answers · UK 2025/26
Should I pay voluntary Class 2 National Insurance if I'm self-employed with low profits?
It can be worthwhile even though Class 2 NI is abolished as a compulsory charge for most self-employed people -- you can still choose to pay voluntary Class 2 at £3.65 a week if your profits are below the Small Profits Threshold, to keep building qualifying years toward your State Pension and other contributory benefits.
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Since April 2024, self-employed people with profits above the Small Profits Threshold of £7,105 automatically get National Insurance credits toward their State Pension and contributory benefits without having to pay Class 2 National Insurance at all -- Class 2 has effectively been abolished as a compulsory charge for most self-employed workers, replaced by these free credits alongside Class 4 NI, which is still charged at 6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270, and 2% above that. However, self-employed people with profits below the £7,105 Small Profits Threshold do not automatically receive these credits, since there is no Class 4 liability at that level either. For anyone in this position -- for example, someone running a small side business, a part-time self-employed carer, or someone with a loss-making early-stage business -- paying voluntary Class 2 National Insurance at £3.65 a week (about £190 a year) is usually far better value than the alternative of voluntary Class 3 contributions at £18.40 a week (around £957 a year), because both routes buy exactly one qualifying year toward the 35 years needed for the full new State Pension, but Class 2 costs roughly a fifth of the price. Each qualifying year currently adds about 1/35th of the full new State Pension (£241.30 a week) to your eventual entitlement, so a single year of voluntary Class 2 contributions, costing under £200, can add hundreds of pounds a year to your State Pension for the rest of your retirement -- a return that is very difficult to match through private saving. Voluntary Class 2 contributions also count toward entitlement to Maternity Allowance and Bereavement Support Payment, benefits that are not covered by Class 3 contributions alone. You can check and pay voluntary Class 2 contributions through your Self Assessment tax return or directly with HMRC, and it is worth checking your State Pension forecast first to confirm you actually have a gap worth filling.
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This answer is informational only and does not constitute financial, tax or legal advice. Figures are for the 2025/26 UK tax year. See our methodology and sources.