The benefits you can only apply for with your National Insurance number
22.09.2023 - 14:01
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
National Insurance can have a major effect on your benefits or pensions, especially if there are gaps in your record.
You will generally pay National Insurance contributions depending on your employment status and how much you earn. This is broken down into Classes, with Class 1 referring to employees, while Class 2 and 4 refer to self-employed people.
Some benefits require that you have a certain amount of National Insurance contributions in order to receive the maximum payment from them. This is especially important for people claiming their pension as they could miss out on much-needed cash.
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National Insurance contributions count towards the following benefits and pensions:
The government highlights that class 4 contributions - which are paid by self-employed people with a profit of £12,579 or more - do not count towards state benefits.
Many of the above benefits and pensions that are not given automatically may sometimes require you to include your National Insurance number during the application process.
You can generally find your National Insurance number on your payslip from work, a P60, any tax returns, or official letters from HMRC regarding your tax, pension or benefits. Otherwise, you can register or log into your personal government tax account which will allow you to look at any letters on there that may feature your number.
If you do not have your National Insurance number on hand, a letter with it on, or letter on your personal tax account, then it could take a while to