National Insurance contributions and pension gap years

Hello, I have a question regarding National Insurance contributions and pension gap years. I understand that if I am employed and earn between £6,396 and £12,570, even though I am not paying National Insurance contributions, I would receive "free National Insurance credits," and this would not be considered a gap year for the pension. Is that correct? However, when I view my National Insurance record, I can see that for those years where I earned between these amounts, it says "Year is not full." I'm confused about whether I need to pay to fill these gaps or if these years still qualify for the pension? Thank you

Hi,
When employed and earning between the Lower earnings Limit (LEL) and the Qualifying earnings Factor you have to hit this level each week to obtain a Class 1 NI Credit, they are not technically free your employer pays a percentage of secondary NI for you and this is when the credits would be achieved.
If you have not earned the correct amount for any week/s or had more than one part time employment this would not attract Class 1 NIC credits and the tax year would be deficient.
You should write into the department if you believe your NI record is incorrect and we will review this for you.
Write to:
PT Operations North East England
HM Revenue and Customs
BX9 1AN
Remember to include your name, address NI Number and DOB, if you have any P60’s please provide a copy we do not need the originals.
Thanks you.

Understood. I do have some self-employed income, so that could have an impact. In this instance, how much should my employed income be for the National Insurance contributions to count as fully paid for a qualifying pension year?

Hi,
It would depend on whether you have any other credits on your records, and the number of weeks you were self-employed.
For example, if you were only self-employed and you were self-employed for the whole tax year (52 weeks) your income would need to be above the small profit threshold (£6725 for the 2024-2025 tax year) to make that year a qualifying year for pension purposes.
Please see further information regarding self-employed National Insurance contributions here - National Insurance: introduction National Insurance classes
Thank you.