{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/social-security-act-1975/section-7",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/social-security-act-1975/section-7.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/1975/14",
  "legislation_title": "Social Security Act 1975",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/social-security-act-1975",
  "path": "section/7",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "7",
  "heading": "Class 2 contributions",
  "text": "(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, every self-employed earner shall, if he is over school-leaving age, be liable to pay Class 2 contributions at the rate of £2.41 a week.\n(2) Class 2 contributions shall not be payable—\n(a) by an earner who is over pensionable age and has retired from regular employment; or\n(b) by an earner who, although over pensionable age, has not retired from regular employment and at the time when he attained pensionable age did not satisfy the contribution conditions for a Category A retirement pension (section 28 and Schedule 3, paragraph 5); or\n(c) by a married woman or widow who has elected, in accordance with regulations under section 130(2) of this Act, to be under no liability for Class 2 contributions and has not revoked her election.\n(3) The Secretary of State may by order direct that, in the tax year beginning 6th April 1975 or in any of the 4 subsequent tax years, the weekly rate of Class 2 contributions shall for women be a specified rate lower than the rate for other Class 2 contributors in respect of that tax year.\n(4) Regulations may make provision so that an earner is liable for a weekly rate of Class 2 contributions higher than that specified in subsection (1) above where—\n(a) in respect of any employment of his, he is treated by regulations under section 2 (2) (b) of this Act as being a self-employed earner; and\n(b) in any period or periods he has earnings from that employment and—\n(i) those earnings are such that (disregarding their amount) he would be liable for Class 1 contributions in respect of them if he were not so treated in respect of the employment, and\n(ii) no Class 4 contribution is payable in respect of the earnings by virtue of regulations under section 10(1) of this Act.\n(5) Regulations may provide for an earner otherwise liable for Class 2 contributions in respect of employment as a self-employed earner to be excepted from the liability in respect of any period in which his earnings from such employment are, or are treated by regulations as being, less than £675 a tax year.\n(6) Regulations made for the purposes of subsection (5) above shall not except a person from liability to pay contributions otherwise than on his own application, but may provide for so excepting a person with effect from any date not earlier than 13 weeks before the date on which his application was made.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1975/14/section/7",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T10:40:38.067895+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}