As far as I am aware and please correct me if I am wrong, as long as you have a referee who will confirm what you have been doing for the past 5 years, it dose'nt matter if you have not signed on or been abroad.
What if you have been at home for 5 years looking after the Kidies, you wont have claimed benifit or have any other Government records, so the only way they will be able to know what you have been doing is through a referee.