This Content Was Last Updated on November 23, 2023 by Jessica Garbett
The Basics of Entitlement to State Benefits
This page needs to be read in association with our guide to National Insurance and State Pension for Yoga Teachers.
Entitlement to State Benefits, primarily State Pension, is currently generated from either:
- Employees – including Company Directors – Class 1 National Insurance from an Employment / Job – confusingly, no NI is due on weekly earnings of less than £123 (2023/24), and NI is payable at 12.0% on weekly earnings over £242 (2023/24) – between these thresholds you pay NI at 0%, meaning the threshold for benefit entitlement is £123 a week even if there is no actual NI deduction from your payslip.
- Self employed – Class 2 National Insurance from Self Employment – you are exempt from paying Class 2 if your profits are under £12,570 (2023/24). If your profits, as reported via Self Assessment, are between £6,725 and £12,570 you get a credit for Class 2.
- NI credit as a carer or parent – see see HMRCs guide to Voluntary NI
Voluntary NI
If you don’t pay National Insurance or get a credit from one of the sources above for each week/month, then a voluntary NI payment may be sensible, for example if:
- If you are Self Employed – including being a partner in a Partnership – but earning less than the £6,725 threshold, then the easiest and cheapest solution is to pay a voluntary Class 2 contribution – £3.45 week (2023/24).
- If you are not Self Employed then you would need to pay voluntary Class 3 contributions which are more expensive – £17.45 week (2023/24).
Generally consider Voluntary NI if in any given tax year you haven’t earned at least £6,396 from Employment (52 x Lower Earnings Limit of £123 – 2023-24 rate), or £6,725 from Self Employment.
Its worth noting that for State Pension the earnings from Employment are annualised, so if you don’t earn £123 a week from an Employment, but earn at least £6,396 over the tax year (52 x £120) then the year is a Qualifying Year for State Pension, but it may not qualify you for other state benefits where criteria differ.
It is worth getting a State Pension forecast periodically from HMRC to see how many more years you need to pay for a full pension – whilst there is no exemption from paying NI once you have accrued a full pension, there is no real merit in making voluntary contributions at this stage.
If you need to pay Voluntary Class 2 NI then you can do so by ticking the relevant box on the Self Employed section of your Self Assessment, however you must pay the Class 2 by 31 January after the tax year (the normal Self Assessment payment date) – if you pay late, even by a day, then you lose the right to pay voluntary Class 2 NI.
Looking ahead – in the Autumn Financial Statement 22nd November 2023 it was announced Class 2 NI is to be abolished from 6th April 2024. However in the short term for 2024/25 an option to pay voluntary Class 2 NI to protect pension and benefit entitlement will remain. From 2025/26 onward the government propose further, as yet unspecified, protections.
Employed and Self Employed? NI Considerations
What about if you have both Employed and Self Employed income?
First, it is important you pay National Insurance on one or other source to preserve benefit rights, and in particular State Pension.
If you are paying Class 1 National Insurance on your Employed income of at least £6,396 then you will get your benefit entitlements including State Pension from that Class 1 NI. If your Self Employed income is below the £6,725 Class 2 NI threshold that’s fine, but if it is over then Class 2 and 4 Self Employed NI are still due (as NI is charged separately on each source where there is Employment and Self Employment).
If your Employment income isn’t £6,396 over the course of a tax year, then if your Self Employed income is over £6,725, Self Employed Class 2 NI is triggered, as payment or credit, and that will cover you,
If neither source of income is high enough to trigger National Insurance. consider paying, via your Self Assessment, a Voluntary NI Class 2 payment.
There is an annual maximum for National Insurance if you pay at full rate in an Employment and have an additional second Employment or Self Employment but it is extremely complex.
The Self Employed pay both Class 2 and Class 4 NI. Class 2 is a fixed weekly amount, Class 4 a variable percentage. All State Benefits are triggered from Class 2.
- Class 2 – 2023/24 – £3.45/week where profits are over £12,570. Credit given if profits over £6,725.
- Class 4 – 2023/24 – 9% on profits between £12,570 and 50,270. 2% on profits over £50,270.
Looking ahead – in the Autumn Financial Statement 22nd November 2023 it was announced Class 2 NI is to be abolished from 6th April 2024. However in the short term for 2024/25 an option to pay voluntary Class 2 NI to protect pension and benefit entitlement will remain. From 2025/26 onward the government propose further, as yet unspecified, protections.
