Free Excel Download
State Pension & NI Gap Tracker 2026/27
Log your National Insurance qualifying years from your official gov.uk record, and plan any voluntary contributions before deadlines pass.
What’s Included
- 20 pre-filled tax-year rows going back from 2026/27, ready for you to mark as qualifying, credited, or a gap.
- Voluntary contribution cost tracking — log what HMRC quotes you to fill any gap year, and whether you've paid it.
- Automatic totals — qualifying years, gap years, and total voluntary contributions all calculate automatically.
- Built-in guidance on how to request your official forecast and what the figures mean.
Why This Matters
Your State Pension is built from National Insurance qualifying years, not a flat amount everyone gets. Many people only discover gaps in their record when it's too late to fill them cheaply — voluntary contributions get more expensive, and eventually impossible, the longer a gap year goes unaddressed.
This tracker gives you a simple place to log your record once you've pulled it from gov.uk, so you can see at a glance which years need attention and plan accordingly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Log into your Government Gateway account on gov.uk and request your State Pension forecast, which includes your full National Insurance record and any gaps.
No. It is a personal record-keeping tool to track your qualifying years and any gaps. Your actual State Pension forecast must come from the official gov.uk service.
Yes, in most cases there are time limits on how far back you can pay voluntary contributions, and these can change. Always check current rules on gov.uk before assuming a gap can still be filled.
Sources
- State Pension rules from GOV.UK — The new State Pension (checked 2026)
- Voluntary NI contributions from GOV.UK — Voluntary NI contributions