People with holes in their state pension records have just one more month to take advantage of a special offer to buy missing years going as far back as 2006.
As long as you get your payment or a callback request in by 5 April you can still benefit from the deal, but after that you will only be able to fill gaps from the past six years.
Most people can use the Government’s online state pension service to check if it is worth buying missing years and to make payments, or you can use the HMRC app.
But the Government has given people a bit of extra leeway, because if you make a callback request to discuss paying voluntary National Insurance contributions before the deadline, you will still be able to pay after it has passed.
This is a softening of the deadline, but so far there is no indication it will be extended again – as happened twice when the system was overwhelmed in spring 2023.
After you have paid, it is then a matter of waiting for the Department for Work and Pensions and HMRC – which run the top-ups system between them – to process the payment and update your record.
Filling state pension gaps: Until 5 April you can still buy missing years stretching back to 2006/2007
Some people are not allowed to use the online tool, including people already over state pension age, those self-employed in any of the years they are trying to pay for, and those who lived abroad in the years they want to fill up now (other excepted groups are listed here).
In that case, you should act immediately if you think filling gaps will improve your state pension.
You will have to contact the DWP’s Future Pension Centre if you are under 66, or its Pensions Service if you are already receiving a state pension, for individual help – or use the callback system explained below. After that, payments must be made to HMRC.
The Government says it is prioritising resources as needed to manage spikes in demand, to support customers applying to make voluntary National Insurance contributions ahead of the deadline.
Regarding the callback system, it says: ‘For anyone who is unable to get through on Department for Work and Pensions’ phoneline ahead of the deadline, they’ve created an online call back request form.
‘DWP will call back to discuss payment of voluntary National Insurance contributions. This will normally be within eight weeks of submitting a request, there is no need to make further contact with DWP or HMRC.
‘People who submit a request to DWP by 5 April 2025 deadline will still be able to pay voluntary National Insurance contributions back to 6 April 2006, after the deadline has passed.
‘When a person submits a request, a message will appear on their screen to confirm that their request has been sent to the DWP Pension Centre. We’d recommend saving a screenshot of the confirmation message.’
Steve Webb, partner at pension consultants LCP and This is Money’s retirement columnist, says: ‘After the chaos in the run-up to previous deadlines, it is good that the Government has planned ahead to make sure that people do not miss out simply because they cannot get through on official phonelines to discuss state pension top-ups.
‘For many people a state pension top-up will be excellent value. But it is useful to be able to discuss your options with someone who can see your NI record and in particular highlight if topping up some years would be of little or no value.
Is it worth buying state pension top-ups?
Buying top-ups can give a generous boost to retirement income if you buy the correct years on your record.
This is Money’s full guide to buying state pension top-ups explains the cost and includes six golden rules for deciding if you should fill gaps by Steve Webb.
Factors to bear in mind include whether you might owed free NI credits anyway, and whether any state pension boost will affect your benefits – so it’s well worth checking Webb’s advice before you buy.
One year of voluntary National Insurance contributions costs £824.20 at the 2022-2023 ‘Class 3’ rate.
The 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 rate is £907.40. The Government-backed MoneyHelper website has more information on what state pension top-ups cost for different years.
It can cost less if you are only filling in a part year.
Self-employed people pay different rates of NI contributions, and the system for them was overhauled last April.
Steve Webb has more details on how self-employed people can build a state pension record.
So is it good value? The headline full new state pension rate is currently £221.20 a week, and it will rise to £230.25 from next month.
You typically need 35 qualifying NI years to get the full amount, so every extra year you manage to fill will boost your state pension entitlement by 1/35th.
At the current rate, that will get you an extra £6.32 a week, or around £329 a year, or nearly £6,600 over a 20-year retirement (not taking into account tax).
What else do you need to know?
HMRC is responsible for maintaining National Insurance records, which you must check for gaps in your state pension records, and processing top-up payments.
The DWP is in charge of revising state pension forecasts or payments after purchases.
It is worth knowing which department does what, so you know who to contact if necessary during the process, or later if anything goes wrong.
Savers buying state pension top-ups are reporting long wait times to find out information and for payments to be processed ahead of the 5 April deadline.
If you get your payment in or request a callback by that date, the Government says you will benefit from the current deal.
However, we continue to hear from readers whose top-ups cash disappeared into the system in previous years, and get little or no help from staff in sorting out problems. We are going to publish another story about this shortly.
If you have paid and heard nothing more, write and tell us your story at [email protected].
Unfortunately we can’t help everyone so you can also contact your MP. If you are an expat, you can contact the MP in the last constituency you lived in and still request help. Find your MP here.
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