Can someone explain the national insurance rise please?

[furrytoebean]

I've just read that Borris is raising the threshold to paying national insurance.
Will this not just mean more people don't pay it and therefore more people will have gaps in their National insurance and be locked out of the state pension?
So it seems like a good thing for poor people but will actually hurt them in the long run.
I know you can pay voluntary contributions but I don't think it's very clear how to do this and lots of people are just going to think it's a tax break with no consequences and this is only for pensions not any other benefit.
Am I missing something? Is there going to an expansion on the credit system?

You don't get credits if you have gaps, I am 59 and only have 24 years stamps from child benefits and some from working, I have only worked part time after my children had grown up and never claimed benefits, my DH still works full time.

Nothing has changed you do not get credits for NI if you are working and below level to pay or not working at all. You can claim HRP Home Responsibilities Protection if you are main recipient of Child Benefit or Carers Allowance. However must have minimum number of years paid NI to count towards pension. Not sure if this will change but as Pension Age continually rising not sure what future will hold

Helping wealthy tax evaders yes.

Tax avoidance/evasion rocketed under Brown but is now steadily reducing under the Tories who have also brought in higher taxes on business owners paying themselves in dividends, higher stamp duty and ATED on foreign property investors, reduced tax relief available for landlords, imposed IR35 on disguised employment, tackled loan/trust payroll schemes, and is actively working with other countries to avoid offshore tax avoidance, etc. So, in fact, the opposite has happened - Labour/Brown turned a blind eye to avoidance/evasion, the Tories have tackled it.

Nothing has changed you do not get credits for NI if you are working and below level to pay

You don't have to pay NIC to get credits if you are within the two lower limits, there is a band where no NICs are payable but you still get credits.

User1497207191 what is the lower band I worked part time until age 56 no gaps but still only have 24 years stamps, most of them are for bring up two children in the seventies and eighties,I did a forecast and that's what they said I have.

I think it's between £116 -£166 a week or thereabout.
If you earn less than this you don't get any nic and if you earn more you have to pay.

You need 10 years to get basic and 35 years to get full.

I think there are going to be a lot of people unaware of this and horrified when they go to collect their pension as I don't think it's explained to people very well at all.

Furrytoebean is correct and the link provided enables you to check your national insurance record and obtain a state pension forecast. You only have 6 years to fill in gaps, unless you have a very good excuse for not having done it in time.

For the year to count for pension purposes you have to have earnings above the annual lower earnings limit. This can help people with irregular earnings as the year can count even if you only work 2-3 months of the year but meet the earnings limit.

Conversely if you are self employed or work regularly but only just around the weekly lower earnings limit and miss a week, everything else paid for the year doesn't count. The record will show if you get credits or built up home responsibilities protection to help the year count.

It is therefore important to check your record, as HMRC used to write if your record was deficient but they no longer do this.

There is currently a statutory formula linking the lower earnings limit and upper, but some contributors have highlighted that it is important to track these and that you fall within these limits and check the details of the government's proposals. They could break that link and take more people out of building up a pension, which you can currently do without paying any NI

Also remember that national insurance is used now to pay benefits and pensions now, so your "pot" isn't invested for your future, like your private pension funds are. Approx 20% of total NI paid goes to the NHS, the rest to benefits and pensions, and the shortfall is covered by general taxation. Crucially it doesn't technically cover social care and this is where the real existential crisis for the UK and first world countries is growing.