The deadline to fill in the gaps in your National Insurance record is April 5 next year, and both the DWP and HMRC are preparing for a tidal wave of demand for their services in the lead-up
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and HMRC have issued a warning ahead of a major state pension deadline next year.
The deadline to fill in the gaps in your National Insurance record is April 5 next year, and both the DWP and HMRC are preparing for a tidal wave of demand for their services in the lead-up. Under the current rules, you need 35 qualifying years on your National Insurance record – some people may need more – to claim the full new state pension. You normally need 10 years to receive anything at all.
If your record has gaps, you could receive much less than you expected, but you can make voluntary contributions to fill them.
The original deadline was April 5, 2023, but this was extended once until July 2023 and then until April 2025 after a public awareness campaign, spearheaded by MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis, jammed phone lines to the Future Pension Centre.
Right now, you can buy back missing National Insurance years dating back to 2006, but after the deadline, you will only be able to go back six tax years. So if you miss the deadline, you could see your state pension payments cut. With just a few months left until this happens, HMRC and the DWP are preparing for heavy usage of their services, according to exchequer secretary to the Treasury, James Murray.
Earlier this month, Liberal Democrat MP Freddie van Mierlo Portrait asked the Treasury what steps they were taking to reduce delays in topping up National Insurance records and the “complexities in obtaining the necessary information to purchase additional years of National Insurance contributions.”
In response, Mr Murray said: “Both departments are putting in place measures to manage the expected demand in the run-up to the 5 April 2025 deadline, including managing the deployment of resources, the use of callbacks, digitising and improving forms for overseas individuals, interactive voice response messaging and directing customers to the digital service.”
He also noted that the Future Pension Centre and National Insurance helpline would remain in place for customers who are unable to use online service, adding: “as well as customers who prefer that route or who need additional assistance,”
Earlier this year, the DWP and HMRC launched a joint online service that allows you to check your state pension forecast and buy contributions for the years you need them.
Before this, to fill in gaps in your record, you needed to make two calls to check for gaps and then make payments for any needed top-ups. First, you needed to contact the Future Pension Centre at the DWP to discuss which years you could top up, how much it would cost, and what impact it would have on your pension. Then, you needed to phone HMRC to get an 18-digit reference number for the payment to be made.
The previous system was often described as “tedious” and “unusable” as Brits often struggled to get through to the phone line due to long queues. When all this was completed, you then had to wait for the DWP to act on the updated National Insurance record and revise their state pension or state pension forecast.
You will need to log in to the new digital service using your Personal Tax Account login details, and those without an online HMRC account can register on GOV.UK. However, you can’t use this initial version if you’ve already started claiming your state pension or if you’re looking to fill gaps from when you were self-employed or working abroad. If you need to plug any gaps in your record, it may be worth giving yourself as much time as possible to sort it out ahead of the deadline in April.
Before making any voluntary National Insurance contributions, check if you’d benefit from claiming National Insurance Credits – these are free and can be claimed if you were claiming benefits or had caring responsibilities.
