You can currently buy missing National Insurance years dating back to 2006 – but after April 5, you will only be able to go back six tax years
There are just days left to check if you can boost your state pension payments by potentially tens of thousands of pounds. It involves purchasing missing National Insurance years if you have gaps in your record.
Your state pension entitlement is dependent on how many National Insurance contributions you have built up during your life. If you have gaps in your record, then you won’t be entitled the full state pension. The full new state pension is worth £221.20 a week, and the full basic state pension is £169.50 a week.
These are rising to £230.30 a week and £176.45 a week, respectively. You can currently buy missing National Insurance years dating back to 2006 – but after this Saturday (April 5) you will only be able to go back six tax years. In most cases, it costs £824 to buy a missing National Insurance year – and this adds up to £328 each year to your pre-tax state pension.
Anyone who cannot get through to the helpline will be able to log an inquiry with the Future Pension Centre for a call back. As long as you do this before April 5, you will still be able to make payments after this deadline. You should get a call back within about eight weeks.
This is Money also reported that you can extend the deadline by an extra month by logging into your National Insurance record on GOV.UK, then clicking “view details” on any years for which you might want to make voluntary contributions. By doing this, you automatically get another month to pay – so if you did this on April 4, you will have until May 4 to pay.
It will cost you less if you’re missing partial years, or if you’re self-employed. MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis has urged anyone aged 40 to 73 to check now to see if they have gaps in their record. In a post published on X/Twitter, he said: “URGENT State pension boosting help. Can be worth £10,000s. Must check if age 40 to 73. Ends Sat.”
The first step is to check your state pension forecast on GOV.UK. Next, check if you can plug any gaps for free by claiming National Insurance credits. Some examples of when you would have been entitled to National Insurance credits include if you previously claimed statutory sick pay and were not earning enough for a qualifying year, if you were unemployed but looking for work, or if you previously looked after a child in the family.
You can find more examples of ways to get free National Insurance credits on GOV.UK. Before you buy any missing National Insurance years, you can get free advice about the process by calling the free Future Pension Centre on 0800 731 0175 if you’re under state pension age, or the free Pension Service helpline on 0800 731 0469 if you’re already at state pension age.
If you decide to purchase missing years, you can do this online through the check your state pension forecast page on GOV.UK or through the HMRC app. You can also contact HMRC for an 18-digit reference number, which will then allow you to pay for your missing years through online banking, or by cheque.
For the new state pension, most people need 35 qualifying years on their National Insurance record to get the full amount. For the old state pension, you normally need 30 qualifying years if you’re a man who was born between 1945 and 1951, or 44 qualifying years if you’re a man who was born before 1945. If you’re a woman, you usually need 30 qualifying years if you were born between 1950 and 1953, or 39 qualifying years if were born before 1950.
MoneySavingExpert.com has highlighted some things to consider before buying any National Insurance years. You should check if the extra money you get will be reduced if it pushes you into a higher tax bracket, or if you’re likely to be on a low income in retirement and only claiming the state pension, then Pension Credit might cover the gap, if this benefit still exists in its current form when you retire.
Antonia Stokes, Low Incomes Tax Reform Group Interim Senior Manager, said: “It won’t always be necessary or worthwhile to fill historic gaps, particularly if you already have sufficient years, or are still a long way off state pension age and are likely to continue building up qualifying years.
“If you are unsure, it is a good idea to speak to the DWP to fully understand your options before you go ahead with a payment. Use the DWP call back request form if you are struggling to get through to them. Finally, if you are considering making a payment of voluntary contributions, check the tax and benefits interactions, particularly if you are already claiming your new state pension.
“A higher state pension may mean more tax to pay and/or less means tested benefits. Current state pension claimants should also check that any updated state pension entitlement is accurately reflected for tax purposes, for example in any PAYE coding notices, or tax calculations you receive from HMRC. Do this as soon as you receive any increased award to prevent any nasty surprises in the future.”
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