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The short answer
If you have left the UK for Nigeria, you can keep building your UK State Pension by paying voluntary Class 3 National Insurance, at £18.40 a week for 2026/27. From 6 April 2026 Class 2 can no longer be paid from abroad. HMRC's NI38 guide says you qualify if you paid Class 1 for your first 52 weeks abroad, lived in the UK for ten continuous years, or have ten qualifying years. You apply on form CF83.
Why it matters
The UK State Pension is based on your National Insurance record, counted in qualifying years. Leave the UK at 40 after a decade of work and your record stops growing. Voluntary contributions let you fill the years you spend in Nigeria, so that the pension you can claim later, from Lagos or from London, is larger. Check your forecast on GOV.UK before paying; it shows how many years you have and how many more would add to your pension.
What changed in April 2026
HMRC's NI38 guide on social security abroad, updated 7 July 2026, says that from the 2026/27 tax year only Class 3 contributions can be paid from abroad. Class 2, the cheaper rate that self-employed people abroad used to pay, is no longer available for periods abroad from 6 April 2026.
Who can pay Class 3 from Nigeria
Nigeria is not among the countries with which the UK has a social security agreement, according to NI38, so the general rules for other countries apply. You can pay Class 3 for periods abroad from 6 April 2026 if one of these applies to you:
- You paid Class 1 contributions for your first 52 weeks abroad.
- You lived in the UK for ten continuous years at some point.
- You have ten qualifying years on your National Insurance record.
NI38 also explains the Class 1 rule for no-agreement countries: an employer with a place of business in the UK may have to keep paying Class 1 for your first 52 weeks abroad if you were ordinarily resident and lived in the UK before you went.
How much it costs
GOV.UK gives the 2026/27 Class 3 rate as £18.40 a week. A full year costs 52 × £18.40 = £956.80.
| Example | Cost |
|---|---|
| One year at the 2026/27 rate | £956.80 |
| Three years of gaps at the same rate | £2,870.40 |
| Five years of gaps at the same rate | £4,784.00 |
These are examples. GOV.UK says that when you pay Class 3 for either of the previous two tax years you pay the original rate for those years, and for earlier years you pay the current rate. NI38 says contributions can generally be paid up to the sixth tax year after the year they are for, so act before older gaps go out of reach.
Is it worth it?
Whether it pays depends on your record and on how many years you draw the pension; your GOV.UK forecast shows what each extra year would add. Points specific to Nigeria:
- No yearly increases in Nigeria. GOV.UK says the State Pension rises each year only for people living in the UK, the EEA, Gibraltar, Switzerland or agreement countries. If you retire in Nigeria, your pension stays at the rate you first get; it rises to the current rate if you move back to the UK.
- Paid abroad, with a charge. GOV.UK says you claim through the International Pension Centre, within four months of State Pension age, and payments to an overseas bank carry a 0.39% conversion charge.
- No healthcare cover. NI38 notes that voluntary contributions abroad do not entitle you to UK healthcare.
- Already full? If your forecast shows you will reach the full amount anyway, extra years add nothing.
Nigerian contributions do not count
Because the UK has no social security agreement with Nigeria, the two systems do not talk to each other. Years in which you pay into a Nigerian RSA, through an employer in Lagos or voluntarily, add nothing to your UK National Insurance record, and UK years add nothing to your Nigerian pension. The only way to keep the UK record growing while you live in Nigeria is voluntary Class 3. That also means a returnee can end up with two modest pensions rather than one adequate one, so it is worth reviewing both at the same time; see accessing your Nigerian RSA for the Nigerian side.
Steps from Nigeria
- Check your National Insurance record and State Pension forecast on GOV.UK.
- Confirm which of the three eligibility routes you meet.
- Complete form CF83 and send it to HMRC.
- Follow HMRC's reply on how and where to pay.
- Keep a record of each payment against the tax year it covers, and check your National Insurance record a few months later to confirm the years show as qualifying.
This is general information, not advice on your record. If you return to the UK, contributions start again through work. For the private pension side, see transferring a UK pension to Nigeria and UK pension or Nigerian RSA.
Where Pryme fits
Voluntary NI is paid in pounds. A Pryme account holds pounds alongside naira, so if you earn in Nigeria you can Swap naira to pounds when the time comes to pay, seeing the rate and the fee before you approve, and send the payment to HMRC's account.
Questions people ask
Can I still pay Class 2 NI from Nigeria?
No, not for periods from 6 April 2026. HMRC's NI38 guide says only Class 3 can be paid from abroad from the 2026/27 tax year.
How much is Class 3 voluntary NI in 2026/27?
GOV.UK gives £18.40 a week, which is £956.80 for a full year.
Will my UK State Pension go up each year if I live in Nigeria?
No. GOV.UK says yearly increases apply only in the UK, EEA, Gibraltar, Switzerland and agreement countries, and Nigeria is not one of them.
Which form do I use to pay voluntary NI from abroad?
Form CF83, according to HMRC's NI38 guide.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Social security abroad, NI38 (updated 7 Jul 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- GOV.UK: Voluntary National Insurance, rates · accessed Oct 2026
- GOV.UK: State Pension if you retire abroad, rates (updated 9 Sep 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.