Quote Originally Posted by blue matt View Post
just checked my state pension, looks like i have 18 more years to pay 12 more years NIC payments , then i am entitled to £175 a week which i believe is the current max state pension

Ive been SE'ed for close to 30 years, so just pay what the HMRC tell me to at the end of the year, these are the NIC i need to pay to continue with building my years up ( as above ) ? ? ?
If you're self employed then yes, you will be paying Class 2 (and maybe Class 4) national insurance, so every year will be counting towards the magical 35 that you need. Going backwards can be done, but only if you have missing years in the last few - which it sounds like you don't. As long as you keep paying NI for 12 more years you should be fine!