NIM33205 - Entitlement to pay voluntary contributions – Transitional arrangements for April 2026 to April 2027
The Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 2001 (SI 2001 No.1004) – Regulation 147
The Social Security (Contributions)(Amendment No 2) Regulations 2026
The transitional rules allow customers with existing arrangements to pay voluntary NICs for periods abroad to be eligible to pay Class 3 National Insurance contributions from the 2026/27 tax year and onwards under the eligibility rules that applied before 6 April 2026.
The eligibility rules which applied before 6 April 2026 can continue to be used where a person:
- applied to pay voluntary Class 2 or Class 3 NICs under regulation 147(1) for either or both the 24/25 and 25/26 tax years on or before 5 April 2026, and
- pays voluntary Class 2 or Class 3 NICs for either or both the 24/25 and 25/26 tax years on or before 5 April 2027, or
- applied to pay voluntary Class 3 NICs for the 2026/27 tax year on or before 5 April 2027.
Payment of these contributions can only be made under regulation 147 and not, for example, under regulation 146. People falling under regulation 146 do not pay according to the 3 year criteria in regulation 147 and are not therefore given transitional protection.
The transitional arrangements will cease to apply where a person who has already benefited from them submits a further application to pay voluntary NICs.
For example, where a person who has been paying voluntary NICs for a period abroad, returns to the UK and takes up employment and pays Class 1 NICs. If they subsequently go abroad again and apply to pay voluntary contributions, their new application will be assessed under the 10 year eligibility criteria.
Likewise, a person who has been paying voluntary NICs for a period abroad and who returns to the UK and continues to pay voluntary Class 3 NICs while in the UK cannot benefit from the transitional arrangements if they return overseas and apply to pay voluntary contributions. Any new application to pay will be assessed under the 10 year eligibility criteria.