Simple move that could add up to £113.76 a week to your state pension – but you need to act now
THE deadline is fast approaching for millions of savers to boost their state pension.
Those seeking to lift their retirement income by filling gaps in their National Insurance (NI) record have until April 5 to benefit from a temporary extension.
This presents a valuable opportunity to potentially add up to £113.76 per week to their future state pension payments.
Currently, individuals can purchase missing NI years dating back to 2006/07.
This opportunity, resulting from a relaxation of the rules when the new state pension was introduced in 2016, was initially due to end in April 2023 but was extended to April 2025.
From April 6, the usual rules will apply again, limiting retrospective contributions to the past six tax years.
While 35 qualifying years of NI contributions are needed for the full new state pension worth £221.20 a week, just 10 years are required to receive any state pension at all.
This means that filling any gaps in your NI record can significantly impact your final pension amount.
Life events such as career breaks, time spent abroad, or periods of self-employment with low earnings can often result in gaps.
Voluntary contributions can be a cost-effective way to make up for these shortfalls.
Tom Selby, director of public policy at AJ Bell, said: “The deadline for people to plug NI gaps in their records is closing in, with only two months left for those with gaps going back to 2006 to make voluntary contributions to boost their state pension entitlement.
“Paying voluntary NI contributions can be a financially savvy way to boost your state pension entitlement.
“It costs around £900 to buy a year’s worth of state pension entitlement, worth around £330 per year and protected by the triple-lock.
“Provided the top-up boosts your state pension entitlement, it will take just a few years for that investment to pay off. “
Since HMRC introduced a digital service for top-ups last April, 37,000 individuals have added over 68,000 years to their records, amounting to £35million.
However, before purchasing any missing years, it’s crucial to first check whether you might be eligible for free NI credits to fill the gaps.
Below, we’ve outlined the steps you need to take to enhance your state pension.
What is National Insurance?
NATIONAL Insurance is a tax on your earnings, or profits if you're self-employed.
These contributions make you eligible for things like the state pension and certain benefits.
You’ll usually pay National Insurance Contributions (NICs) when you’re over the age of 16 and earning a certain amount.
For example, if you earn £1,000 a week, you pay nothing on the first £242.
Earn over that and you pay 10% on the next £725 – so £72.50. Then you pay 2%o on the rest, so £33, which works out as 66p.
For the self-employed rates are slightly different.
You can also get something known as National Insurance in some circumstances when you’re not working, for example when you have kids and claim certain benefits.
NICs are usually taken automatically by your employer and paid to HMRC, so you don’t need to do anything.
You can see how much NICs you pay on your wage slip.
Anyone working for themselves usually has to pay NICs themselves when completing a self-assessment tax return.
CHECK YOUR YEARS
If you think you’re missing National Insurance years, the first thing to do is check you State Pension forecast.
You can check this as well as the State Pension age through the government’s new ‘Check your State Pension’ tool online at www.gov.uk/check-state-pension.
The tool is also available through the HMRC app, which you can download free on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
You’ll need to log in using your Personal Tax Account login details. If you don’t already have an online HMRC account, you can register at gov.uk.
It shows you how much your state pension could increase by and what NI years you’ll need to buy to achieve this.
You’ll then be able to pay for these missing years securely online, without having to call up separately.
You’ll need to pay for these in full – you can’t pay in instalments.
You can’t use the online service if you’re already getting your State Pension.
Instead, you’ll need to call the Pension Service on 0800 731 0469.
However, before you commit to buying new National Insurance years it’s vital you check whether you were entitled to free credits at any point.
CHECK FOR NATIONAL INSURANCE CREDITS
Before making a voluntary contribution, it is important to check if the gaps in your contributions can be filled with free NI credits.
Thousands are thought to be missing out on these NI Credits, leaving them worse off in retirement.
For example, those on certain benefits should qualify for Class 1 credits.
This includes parents with active claims for child benefit.
You can check the full list of people eligible to claim credits by visiting www.gov.uk/national-insurance-credits/eligibility.
It explains the circumstances where you’ll need to claim and when you’ll get it automatically.
TOP UP YOUR NATIONAL INSURANCE YEARS
In some cases, buying back missing years can be really valuable.
But earning back the years isn’t free, so your voluntary contributions come at a price.
If you fill gaps between 2006/07 and 2015/16, you’ll pay the 2022/23 rates for contributions.
It is worth £15.85 a week, which means it costs £824.20 to buy one year of contributions.
As the state pension was £185.15 per week in 2022/23, this boost would add £5.29 per week or around £275 per year.
Although you’d have to pay £8,242 (10 lots of £824.20), the annual state pension boost would be around £2,750.
Someone who was retired for 20 years would get back around £55,000 in total (before tax).
Anyone under 73 can make voluntary pension contributions, as it’s assumed everyone under this age will claim the new state pension.
If you’re below the state pension age, you can check your state pension forecast by visiting www.gov.uk/check-state-pension to determine if you’ll benefit from paying voluntary contributions.
You can also contact the Future Pension Centre by calling 0800 731 0175.
If you’ve reached state pension age, contact the Pension Service to find out if you’ll benefit from voluntary contributions.
You can contact this service in several different ways by visiting www.gov.uk/contact-pension-service.
You can usually pay voluntary contributions for the past six years.
The deadline is April 5 each year.
For example, you have until April 5, 2030, to compensate for gaps in the tax year 2023 to 2024.
The deadline has been extended for making voluntary contributions for the tax years 2016 to 2017 or 2017 to 2018.
You now have until April 5, 2025, to pay.
Find out how to pay for your contributions by visiting www.gov.uk/pay-voluntary-class-3-national-insurance.
How does the State Pension work?
AT the moment the current State Pension is paid to both men and women from age 66 - but it's due to rise to 67 by 2028 and 68 by 2046.
The state pension is a recurring payment from the government most Brits start getting when they reach State Pension age.
But not everyone gets the same amount, and you are awarded depending on your National Insurance record.
For most pensioners, it forms only part of their retirement income, as they could have other pots from a workplace pension, earning and savings.
The new state pension is based on people’s National Insurance records.
Workers must have 35 qualifying years of National Insurance to get the maximum amount of the new state pension.
You earn National Insurance qualifying years through work, or by getting credits, for instance when you are looking after children and claiming child benefit.
If you have gaps, you can top up your record by paying in voluntary National Insurance contributions.
To get the old, full basic state pension, you will need 30 years of contributions or credits.
You will need at least 10 years on your NI record to get any state pension.
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