Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what consideration her Department gave to transition arrangements for UK citizens living abroad who have been making voluntary Class 2 National Insurance contributions but have not yet qualified for a full State Pension.

The changes to voluntary National Insurance contributions policy announced at Budget retain routes for individuals living outside of the UK to fill gaps in their NI records by paying Class 3 NICs, which allows individuals to continue to build entitlement to the UK State Pension.

This includes transitional arrangements for existing voluntary Class 2 and 3 customers to not be subject to the new 10-year qualifying conditions.

The removal of access to voluntary Class 2 NICs applies for the 2026/27 tax year onwards, and does not affect the ability of any customer to pay voluntary Class 2 NICs for periods abroad prior to 6 April 2026.