In a post to X – formerly Twitter – the tax office has urged Brits to check for gaps in their National Insurance records, as they could boost their state pension payments
HMRC has issued an urgent warning to older Brits ahead of a major deadline next month.
In a post to X – formerly Twitter – the tax office has urged Brits to check for gaps in their National Insurance records, as they could boost their state pension payments.
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.
Right now, you can buy back missing National Insurance years dating back to 2006, but after the deadline on April 5, you will only be able to go back six tax years. With the deadline fast approaching, HMRC urged Brits to act as if they miss it, they could lose out on higher state pension payments. The HMRC post read: “It’s time to check your National Insurance record! You may be able to make voluntary contributions to cover gaps from 2006-2018, boosting your State Pension. Act now before the 5 April 2025 deadline.”
To make inquiries, you can call the DWP’s Future Pension Centre if you are under pension age or the Pension Service if you are already receiving a pension. These calls often involve discussing how filling gaps in specific years affects the state pension.
Today it was confirmed that the deadline had been “softened” as the government departments prepare for a surge in last-minute enquiries. The Government announced today that people who log an inquiry with the Future Pension Centre on time will be able to make top-up payments after the deadline.
The government has now introduced an “online call back request form” for those who cannot reach get through before the April 5 deadline.
This form allows people to request a callback from the DWP regarding voluntary National Insurance contributions for gaps in State Pension entitlement between 2006 and 2018. The department will then respond within eight weeks, with no need for further contact with DWP or HMRC after submitting the request. If a request is made by April 5, 2025, people can still pay contributions back to April 6, 2006, even after the deadline.
Last year, the DWP and HMRC also 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.
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.
