State pension with 30 qualifying years — almost there.
What state pension do you get with 30 qualifying NI years? See your forecast and learn why each missing year costs £329/year for life.
Thirty qualifying years gives you roughly 86% of the full new state pension — about £196 per week or £10,200 a year at 2025/26 rates. You are just 5 years short of the full pension, and each one of those missing years costs you approximately £329 per year for life. That is £1,645 a year you are leaving on the table. At this point, filling gaps is almost always worth it if you can. Five years of voluntary Class 3 contributions at £824 each costs £4,120 in total but adds £1,645 a year to your pension indefinitely. The payback period is roughly two and a half years. If you have already reached state pension age and cannot add more years through employment, check your NI record on gov.uk to see if any recent gaps can still be filled retroactively.