Self-employed people do get the State Pension. Since 6 April 2024, Class 2 is treated as paid once your profits reach the Small Profits Threshold.

If you work for yourself, the State Pension you build depends on which National Insurance class your profits trigger and whether each year ends up on your record as a qualifying year. A self-employed record is easier to judge beside private savings, and in one free conversation an FCA-authorised adviser can cover both, arranged through this page's form.

Do self-employed people get the State Pension?

Yes. The State Pension is not reserved for employees. The rules depend on years on your National Insurance record, and the new State Pension needs 10 qualifying years before it pays anything. GOV.UK names three kinds of qualifying year: one with working and National Insurance paid, one with credits (for example while ill, unemployed or caring), and one with voluntary contributions.

DWP's guide Your new State Pension explained gives £241.30 a week as the full amount for 2026 to 2027. Someone whose record began after April 2016 needs 35 qualifying years to receive it. Your own amount can differ if you were contracted out before 2016 or paid into the Additional State Pension. Self-employment changes only how the years get onto your record, not the number of years you need. The wider picture is on the State Pension explainer, including how many qualifying years you need.

What changed for Class 2 National Insurance on 6 April 2024?

Class 2 stopped being a bill you pay and became a credit HMRC gives you, provided your profits are high enough. HMRC's National Insurance Manual says that from 6 April 2024 the Lower Profits Threshold was removed, "which means that liability to pay Class 2 NICs no longer exists". Two situations follow, split by the Small Profits Threshold.

  • Profits at or above the threshold: you are "treated as actually having paid Class 2 NICs to protect entitlement to State Pension and certain benefits".
  • Profits below the threshold, or a loss: you can choose to pay Class 2 voluntarily to protect the same entitlements. Nothing is owed.

For 2026 to 2027, GOV.UK puts the threshold at profits of £7,105 a year. Profits are your self-employed income less your expenses, not your takings. If your profits reach that level, Class 2 "treated as having been paid" means your year is protected without any payment from you, although you must still tell HMRC when you become self-employed.

Does Class 4 National Insurance count towards your State Pension?

No. GOV.UK states that if you are self-employed and make a profit of more than £12,570 a year, you pay Class 4 contributions, and that these "do not count towards state benefits or pensions". Class 4 is a charge on profits, not a way of building a pension.

That is why two self-employed people can pay very different National Insurance bills yet build exactly the same State Pension. Someone with profits well above £12,570 pays Class 4 and has Class 2 treated as paid. Someone whose profits sit between the Small Profits Threshold and £12,570 pays no Class 4 at all, yet still has the year protected. GOV.UK's table of what National Insurance is for lists Class 2 as counting towards both the basic and the new State Pension, with Class 4 absent from it.

What if your profits are below the Small Profits Threshold?

You do not have to pay anything, but you can choose to pay voluntary Class 2 contributions, and HMRC sets the Class 2 rate for 2026 to 2027 at £3.65 a week. Who may pay depends on income: a gross income of £1,000 or less, or a gross income above £1,000 with profits under £7,105, opens both Class 2 and Class 3 to a self-employed person. Either way, the payment counts towards your State Pension and some benefits.

Whether a voluntary year is worthwhile depends on what is already on your record. A year in which you were also employed, or got credits, may already count, and your forecast shows how your own record would change. The mechanics of paying are covered on the State Pension top up page, the cost on the Class 3 cost page, and the choice between the two classes on Class 2 against Class 3. Not sure whether Class 2 is treated as paid in your case, or whether to pay it voluntarily? Put that question to the adviser who phones after you use the form here.

How do you check your National Insurance record as a self-employed person?

Check it before assuming anything. The online record on GOV.UK shows what you have paid up to April 2026, any credits received, and whether gaps mean some years "do not count towards your State Pension". It also shows whether paying voluntary contributions would help, and how your forecast would change if you did.

The State Pension forecast shows what you could get and when. Applying online is the quickest way to get one; you can also use the HMRC app, and anyone whose State Pension age is more than 30 days away can send in a BR19 form or ring the Future Pension Centre for a posted copy.

Why a self-employed record can still have gaps

The treated-as-paid rule only helps in years when profits reach the threshold. A new business that made a loss, or a quiet year with profits under the threshold, can leave a year that does not count, and you may not notice until you look. Before 6 April 2024 the rules were different: HMRC's manual describes Class 2 from 6 April 2015 as a bill to be paid once profits passed a threshold, so older years are worth reading one by one rather than assuming the record is complete.

If you would rather not sign in, HMRC will send a printed National Insurance statement for the years you name, though not for the current or previous tax year.

Credits and other years that count

If some years had low profits, you may still have years on your record from other routes. GOV.UK lists credits for a parent or guardian on the Child Benefit register for a child under 12, and for anyone getting Carer's Allowance, among others; the full list is on the credits page. Gaps from old years can be explained on the missing years page.

Your private saving sits beside all this. The State Pension is one layer, and how tax relief works on a personal pension when you work for yourself has its own guide, on pension tax relief for the self-employed. MoneyHelper's pensions guidance is free as well; to have your National Insurance years and private savings weighed up in one conversation, the form here books that call, and the person on the line is an FCA-authorised adviser who charges nothing for it.

Other things self-employed people want to know

Do I need to pay Class 2 to get a qualifying year?

Not if your profits reach the Small Profits Threshold, because Class 2 is treated as paid. Below it, a year counts only if you pay voluntary contributions or get credits.

Is the State Pension smaller for the self-employed?

Not because of self-employment as such: the full rate is the same for everyone, and your qualifying years decide how much of it you get. One difference sits in older records, as GOV.UK's table shows Class 2 does not count towards the Additional State Pension, and amounts can differ for anyone who paid into it or was contracted out before 2016.

Can I get an invalidity or ill-health pension from the State?

The State Pension is paid from State Pension age, not early. For illness before then, GOV.UK's table shows Class 2 counting towards contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance.

How much State Pension will I get after years of self-employment?

It depends on your qualifying years, not on how you were employed, so your own forecast is the best guide. The State Pension rate page explains how an amount is worked out.

Will I still have to pay National Insurance when I reach State Pension age?

That is covered on the page on National Insurance beyond State Pension age.