If you registered as self-employed between 2015 and early 2024 you may not be correctly linked to the National Insurance system. You may have started self-employment without submitting a CWF1 registration form because you already had a unique taxpayer reference (UTR). As a result, HMRC’s records did not identify that class 2 National Insurance contributions were due.

HMRC is writing to self-employed taxpayers who may have gaps in their National Insurance records that could affect their state pension entitlement. The letter offers individuals the chance to fill missing qualifying years back to 2015/16.

Other gaps may have arisen where voluntary class 2 contributions were paid after the 31 January deadline or where payments were used by HMRC to clear outstanding tax liabilities rather than make National Insurance contributions.

Receiving a letter from HMRC does not necessarily mean that there is a shortfall, so the first step is to check whether additional qualifying years are needed. This can be done through your personal tax account.

This allows eligible taxpayers to fill gaps going back to 2015/16, beyond the normal six-year time limit for voluntary contributions.

If you registered for self-assessment from 2015 onwards you may want to check your NI contribution record.