Became self-employed from 2015 to 2024? You may have incorrect gaps in your National Insurance record that could reduce your State Pension by £1,000s

HMRC estimates that 800,000 people have been affected by this latest State Pension issue, with 160,000 of those already at (or within two years of) the State Pension age.

Below we explain what went wrong and what HMRC is now doing. We also plan to publish more detailed, step-by-step guidance soon – sign up to our weekly email and we'll let you know when this is ready.

How State Pension entitlement works when you're self-employed

To get the full new State Pension – currently £241.30 a week – you usually need at least 35 qualifying NI years on your record (though some need many more).

When you're self-employed, you can get NI years through Class 2 NI contributions – though what you pay depends on your annual profits. Currently:

• If your profits are below £7,105 a year, you can choose to pay voluntary contributions to avoid leaving gaps in your NI record. This costs £3.65 a week for the 2026/27 tax year, so it would cost about £189.80 to buy one year's worth.

• If your profits are £7,105 or more a year, you get Class 2 contributions for free. This protects your NI record for State Pension purposes. Note that, depending on your profits, you may have to pay Class 4 NI (which is separate and doesn't count toward the State Pension).

Prior to 6 April 2024, you were also required to pay mandatory Class 2 contributions if your profits were above a certain level (£12,570 for the 2023/24 tax year, the last one in which they were due). However, this requirement was scrapped for the 2024/25 tax year onwards.

What went wrong – and why you may be missing out

Since 2015, those becoming self-employed have had to sign up for self-assessment AND separately notify HMRC of their new status using the specific CWF1 form.

If you didn't – even if you filled out the self-employed section of your tax return – you may not have paid the correct amount of Class 2 NI contributions. This leaves you at risk of incorrect gaps in your NI record, and potentially a lower State Pension (if you don't otherwise have enough qualifying years).

Only "a minority" of people who registered between 2015 and 2024 were affected, according to HMRC – though it estimates that this could amount to 800,000 people.

HMRC says the issue arose because the CWF1 form was needed "for Class 2 to be assessed and collected correctly". However, as of the 2024/25 tax year, it has now improved its systems to ensure the correct contributions are added even if you fail to submit the CWF1 – meaning the issue has been fixed going forward.

HMRC will write to you if you're affected

Letters started going out this month, but don't worry if you don't get one straight away – HMRC says it's sending them out in stages to make sure it has enough resources to support people who contact it.

If you're at, or within two years of, State Pension age, you can expect to hear by "summer 2027". For everyone else affected, letters should start going out from spring 2027.

The letter will direct you to contact the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), so you can check what impact (if any) the issue has had on your State Pension. DWP will also help you work out whether it's worth paying to fill any gaps.

Normally, you can only fill gaps going back six tax years, but HMRC says anyone affected by this issue will be able to pay for earlier years going all the way back to 2015, at the original rates.

An online tool to help you fill any gaps will launch next year

HMRC says it's updating the Gov.uk State Pension Forecast tool, which lets you check how much State Pension you could get, when you can get it, and whether you can boost it (by filling gaps in your NI record, for example).

"From spring 2027", self-employed people will ALSO be able to:

• Check whether they have National Insurance gaps (linked to this issue or otherwise);

• See whether filling those gaps would increase their State Pension; and

• Make voluntary National Insurance contributions.

In the meantime, HMRC says it's best to sit tight, as contacting it or attempting to complete the CWF1 form retrospectively "could disrupt" the process of fixing the overall issue.