Military spouses National Insurance credits system – UPDATED

August 15, 2016

Under the new State Pension, how much State Pension an individual receives is based on their own National Insurance record. You can view a personalised State Pension forecast online by using the Check your State Pension service.

You will usually need a minimum of 10 qualifying years to receive any new State Pension. More information about the new State pension is available here.

HMRC and DWP introduced the Military spouses National Insurance credits as part of their commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant. This credit allows spouses or civil partners of Armed Forces personnel to fill any gaps in their National Insurance record which are a result of accompanying their spouse or civil partner abroad.

For Example:

Jackie was born in 1957.

She will reach state pension age in 2023 when she will be 66 years old.

Jackie married Simon in 1985. Simon was in the army from 1980 to 2000 and will reach State Pension age in 2024 when he will also be aged 66.

Jackie was self-employed as a hairdresser from 1980 – 1985 and so has five qualifying years for State Pension purposes (she paid Class 2 National Insurance contributions during this time).

In 1995, Simon was posted abroad to Cyprus and Jackie decided to close her business and accompany her husband. They were in Cyprus for a period of 5 years from 1995 to 2000.

Therefore, Jackie only has five qualifying years from paying Class 2 National Insurance contributions and would fall short of the Minimum Qualifying Period of ten years.

However, Jackie can apply for the Military Spouses National Insurance credits (Class 3 credits) for the duration of her accompanied visit to Cyprus from 1995 – 2000, and could gain an additional 5 qualifying years, giving her sufficient credits to satisfy the Minimum Qualifying Period test.

For further information, click here.