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State pension top-up

Is buying National Insurance years worth it?

Years short of the full state pension, what a year costs and what it pays back.

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What you enter: qualifying years so far · age now · stop work at.

Worked example

Is buying National Insurance years worth it — an example

Inputs
Qualifying years so far
28
Age now
58
Stop work at
60
Result
State pension age
67
Years short of the full amount by retirement
5
Years you could buy back
5
Cost of a year
£923
Adds each year for life
£359
Payback
2.6 years
Over an average life
£6,448
Forecast implied by your years
£10,038 a year

How it is worked out. Full new state pension needs 35 qualifying years; each year adds 1/35th; Class 3 contributions cost £17.75 a week; life expectancy from ONS-fitted tables.

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Not advice. Money Horizon is a planning indicator built on simplified rules. It does not know your full circumstances, cannot replace a regulated adviser, and its figures should not be relied on for any decision. It is not financial advice. Nothing you enter leaves your browser. Calculators use the 2026-27 rules; figures are estimates.