My profits are below the Class 2 threshold — should I pay Class 2 voluntarily to protect my state pension?

For most sole traders in your position, yes — paying it voluntarily is cheap insurance. At £3.65 a week for 2026–27 (about £190 for the full year), each qualifying year adds roughly 1/35th of the full state pension to your record, and you need 35 qualifying years for the full amount, so one year's payment protects around £300+ of annual pension — it pays for itself many times over in retirement.

There's no downside if your profits creep over the £7,105 threshold: at or above that level Class 2 is treated as paid automatically, so you wouldn't pay twice — the voluntary payment only fills years where your profits were too low to trigger it. The one thing to watch is that voluntary Class 2 is only worth it if you actually have a gap to fill; if you're also employed part-time, have NI credits (for example from caring or unemployment), or already expect 35+ qualifying years, a gap year may not cost you anything.

Check your NI record on GOV.UK's personal tax account before paying, so you can see exactly which years are missing — you can also make up missed years going back up to 6 years. Practically, voluntary Class 2 for self-employed people is paid via your Self Assessment, so tick the voluntary payment option when you file; it flows through to your record automatically.