HMRC has urged state pensioners to check if they can ‘boost’ their payments by topping up National Insurance. HMRC says older people only have until April to plug gaps in National Insurance contributions which date back to 2006.
April 2025, people will only be able to date back six years. In a new post on X, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) wrote: “Discover if you can boost your state pension. Want to know how much state pension you’ll get? You may be able to get more by making Voluntary National Insurance Contributions.”
It added: “Check if you can benefit via our free HMRC app.” The full ‘new’ State Pension is currently £221.20 a week – however, how much you receive depends on how many ‘qualifying’ full National Insurance (NI) years you have. Most collect NI years through working and paying NI, but you can also get them if you’re claiming benefits or caring for others.
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Money Saving Expert advises: “There is a strict time limit on buying back years. Normally you can buy back up to six years, but when the ‘new’ State Pension was introduced, transitional arrangements were put in place to let you plug gaps all the way back to 2006.”
“This was due to end on 5 April 2023, and then 31 July 2023, but because so many people were trying, the necessary government phone lines got clogged up (mainly due to Martin shouting from the rooftops about it). So the date has been extended to 5 April 2025. The process isn’t always quick though, so if it’s something that could work for you, don’t leave it too late.”
The site, which was started by BBC and ITV star Martin Lewis, adds: “This is big money. It’s the most lucrative thing many under the age of 73 can do, and some gain £10,000s”