National Insurance credits

Credits have been designed to protect your National Insurance record for basic State Pension and Bereavement Benefit. They may also maintain your entitlement to other benefits, such as Incapacity Benefit. These credits are added to any contributions you may have already paid and we look at the total when we decide if a tax year qualifies towards your basic State Pension or Bereavement Benefit.

You may get credits to protect your National Insurance record for any part or whole weeks when you were:

• unemployed or sick
• on an Approved Training Course
• doing Jury Service and did not have earnings at or exceeding the lower earnings limit from employment. (This does not include self-employment.)
• detained in legal custody and have had your conviction quashed by the Crown Court, Court of Appeal or the High Court
• receiving
  • Statutory Adoption Pay/Statutory Maternity Pay/Statutory Sick Pay
  • Maternity Allowance
  • Carer's Allowance
  • Working Tax Credit (replaced Disabled Person's and Working Families' Tax Credit)
  • Carers Allowance (replaced Invalid Care Allowance)

Automatic credits

You can get automatic National Insurance credits for up to five full tax years from the tax year in which you reach age 60 if you are:

• a man between the age of 60 to 65
• and living in the UK for 182 days or more in each tax year

You do not have to claim automatic credits. You should take any automatic credits into account if you are paying, or thinking of paying, voluntary contributions.

You cannot get automatic credits for any tax year when:

• you spend more than 182 days abroad
• you have to pay National Insurance contributions as an employed or self-employed person
• you are entitled to another credit, for example Incapacity Benefit or Employment and Support Allowance

Young people

You will get credits automatically for the tax years containing your 16th, 17th and 18th birthdays if you did not earn enough to pay or be treated as paying National Insurance contributions.