Contracted out

t0rt0ise

The future pensions department will tell your wife which past years are worth paying for. 

https://www.gov.uk/future-pension-centre

molerat

With regards to your wife's forecast

Which years are the ones with a small amount to pay ?  If pre 2016 then they will not make any difference to the pension.  At April 2020 she has 39 years so the minimum pre 2016 years she holds is 35, the maximum useable so cannot be added to. She must be missing 2016-17 to 2019-20, the 4 years that can be added on top of the 2 years 2020-21-22.  Well worth paying for as the outlay is recouped in under 4 years.

As to 39/44 years, that is the old old pension scheme which changed in 2010 to 30 years for both sexes.

Silvertabby

meadow2018 said:

I have 45 years full contributions upto April 2020 and have only just reached the full new state pension amount although 35 years is the number now needed.  This is because I was contracted out in the 80's.  I still have several years before SPA.

When DWP say 'full years' they actually mean 'full financial calendar years', not 'paid full NI years' (as opposed to paid reduced NI due to being contracted out),

This alone has caused considerable confusion !

xylophone

Quite clearly both you and your wife were in "contracted out" schemes and therefore each of you will have a COPE (your forecasts should show it)  which was used once only to calculate your "starting amount" for new state pension.
Thus at 6/4/16, (when you both had at least 35 years) two calculations were done for each of you.
Old Rules
 £119.30 (because  having at least 30 years you had qualified for full basic Old SP) + (Additional State Pension - Deduction for Contracting Out)
New Rules
 £155.65 ( full rate of NSP) because you had at least 35 years) - Contracted Out Pension Equivalent.
Your  starting amount amount was the higher of the two.

The starting amount for both of you was under the amount of a full NSP and you both had a number of years between 6/4/16 and your State Pension Age.

Therefore you could contribute/be credited with NI during those years  in order to bring yourselves as close as possible in your individual circumstances to a full NSP.  

30072009

Thank You molerat your advice is actually helpful and greatly appreciated