Part-time work and the state pension.
A part-time year counts as a qualifying year for state pension purposes — but only if your earnings reach the Lower Earnings Limit. Earn less than £6,396 in 2025/26 and that year produces nothing towards your 35-year target, unless a credit applies.
- ▸Part-time work generates a qualifying NI year if your total earnings from that job (or jobs combined on one PAYE record) reach the Lower Earnings Limit — £6,396 in 2025/26.
- ▸Earnings between the LEL (£6,396) and the Primary Threshold (£12,570) trigger a qualifying year but no actual NI deduction. The year is credited automatically.
- ▸Multiple very small jobs can be a trap: if each pays below the LEL and they are on separate PAYE references, none of them generates a qualifying year — even if combined earnings are well above the threshold.
- ▸Salary sacrifice below the LEL can accidentally destroy a qualifying year. If your contractual pay drops below £6,396 after sacrifice, the year may not count.
- ▸Credits from Child Benefit, Carer's Allowance, and JSA can fill gaps — particularly useful for part-time workers who also have caring responsibilities.
The Lower Earnings Limit threshold
The Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) is the key number for part-time workers and state pension qualifying years. For 2025/26 it is £6,396 per year (£533/month; £123/week).
If your earnings from employment in a tax year are at or above the LEL, that year counts as a qualifying year for your state pension record. This is true even if you do not actually pay any National Insurance — earnings between the LEL and the Primary Threshold (£12,570) attract no NI deduction but are still credited as a qualifying year.
If your earnings fall below the LEL in a tax year, you do not get a qualifying year from that employment. The NI system does not accumulate partial years. Each tax year is either qualifying or not.
What happens if you earn below it
Earning below £6,396 in a tax year leaves a gap in your NI record unless something else fills it.
There is no automatic mechanism for low-earning part-time workers. The responsibility is yours to either ensure earnings reach the LEL or identify whether any NI credits apply.
The multiple jobs trap is worth understanding explicitly. If you hold three part-time jobs — each paying £4,000/year — your total earnings are £12,000 but each job is on a separate PAYE reference. The NI system looks at each PAYE source individually, not at total earnings. None of the three jobs individually crosses the LEL, so none generates a qualifying year. Combined earnings mean nothing.
This is a real problem for some workers in the gig economy, hospitality, and retail who have fragmented employment across several employers. If this applies to you, check your NI record on gov.uk — you may have more gaps than you expect.
Salary sacrifice and the LEL risk
Salary sacrifice — a tax-efficient way of making pension contributions — can create an unintended problem for lower-paid workers.
Under salary sacrifice, your contractual gross salary is reduced. If your salary after sacrifice drops below the LEL (£6,396), that year may not generate a qualifying year.
Example: A part-time worker earning £8,000 a year sets up a 20% salary sacrifice arrangement, reducing their contractual salary to £6,400 — just above the LEL. If the salary sacrifice amount then increases, or if the LEL rises slightly, they could dip below it and lose the qualifying year.
For workers earning between £6,396 and, say, £9,000, salary sacrifice should be set up cautiously. The tax saving from salary sacrifice on modest earnings is small — you pay little NI at that income level anyway. The cost of losing a qualifying year (roughly £329/year in lost state pension for life) almost certainly outweighs the benefit.
Use our salary sacrifice calculator to check the numbers for your specific situation before adjusting contributions.
Credits that fill gaps
Several types of NI credit can fill a year in which employment earnings fall below the LEL:
Child Benefit credits: If you are receiving Child Benefit for a child under 12, you automatically receive NI credits that count as qualifying years. This is specifically designed to protect the state pension of parents (usually mothers) who work part-time or not at all during early childhood.
If your partner claims Child Benefit but you are the lower earner who needs the NI credit, you can apply for Specified Adult Childcare credits to transfer the credit to your record instead.
Carer's Allowance: If you claim Carer's Allowance (for providing at least 35 hours/week of care), NI credits are awarded automatically.
Jobseeker's Allowance / Universal Credit: Claiming contributory JSA or being on Universal Credit in a work-related activity group can generate NI credits.
Statutory sick pay and maternity pay: Weeks on SSP or SMP, where your earnings are reduced below the normal threshold, are still credited as qualifying.
If you are a part-time worker with caring responsibilities, you may have more NI credits than your payslip suggests. Check your full record at gov.uk or use the state pension forecast calculator to see the current count of qualifying years on your record.
- ▸The Lower Earnings Limit for 2025/26 is £6,396/year. Earnings at or above this level in a tax year generate a qualifying NI year, even if no NI is actually deducted. [gov.uk]
- ▸Each PAYE employment is assessed individually. Multiple jobs each below the LEL do not combine to create a qualifying year, even if total earnings are above the threshold. [gov.uk]
- ▸Child Benefit recipients caring for a child under 12 receive automatic NI credits, protecting their state pension record during years of part-time or no work. [gov.uk]
- ▸The full new state pension requires 35 qualifying years and is worth £221.20/week (£11,502/yr) in 2025/26. [gov.uk]