Welcome news on State Pension top-up deadline

Commenting on the news that people have been given nearly two extra years to plug gaps in their national insurance (NI) record going back to April 2006 by extending the current deadline of July 31, 2023 to April 5, 2025, Sarah Pennells, Consumer Finance Specialist at Royal London said:

"The decision by the government to extend the deadline to April 2025 is good news. We know that ahead of the original deadline of April 5th this year, the DWP Future Pension Centre received over half a million calls a month*, ten times the normal amount it would get, showing the need and appetite of people to act and address a gap or find out more to ensure they don’t miss out.

"Filling in any gaps in your National Insurance record by paying for voluntary NI can be money very well spent, but not everyone with an incomplete National Insurance record will benefit by doing so, which is why it’s so important to speak to someone at the Future Pension Centre first. There’s no point in paying for voluntary NI contributions if that won’t increase the State Pension you’re due to receive or, for example, because you’ll pay National Insurance anyway as you’re going to continue working, or if you’ll be credited with National Insurance, perhaps if you’re on certain state benefits or are a carer who will qualify for NI credits.

"The extension to the deadline will help those people who want to go back as far as 2006 to fill in any National Insurance gaps, but if you have an incomplete National Insurance record from the last few years, you aren’t affected by this deadline. Under the rules, anyone who is eligible to fill in gaps in their National Insurance record can always go back over the last six years."

Three steps to take if you think you may have gaps in your National Insurance record:

1. Check your State Pension forecast. This will tell you how much State Pension you’ve already built up and how much you’re on track to receive when you reach State Pension age. You can do this online at Gov.uk/check-state-pension, by filling in a BR19 form and posting it, or by calling the Future Pension Centre on 0800 731 0175.
2. Get hold of your National Insurance record. This will tell you which years you’ve paid enough National Insurance and if there are any gaps. You can do this online at Gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record or by calling HMRC on 0300 200 3500. If you want to view your National Insurance record online, you’ll need to have, or set up, a Government Gateway account.
3. If you find there are gaps in your record, ring the Future Pension Centre on 0800 731 0175. They’ll tell you if you’ll benefit from buying voluntary National Insurance. Due to the volume of calls the helpline is receiving, you may need to be persistent.