The Department for Work and Pensions has issued an urgent call to state pensioners to “check” their accounts immediately, warning that failure to do so could result in lower than expected payments. The DWP has advised pensioners to verify their National Insurance contributions to ensure they receive the correct amount.
To qualify for any new State Pension, individuals need 10 years on their National Insurance record. A qualifying year is defined as one where you were either working and made National Insurance contributions, received National Insurance credits due to unemployment, illness or being a parent or carer, or made voluntary National Insurance contributions.
The DWP took to Twitter to advise: “Want to know how much #StatePension you’ll get? You may be able to get more by making Voluntary National Insurance Contributions. Check if this applies to you via the free @HMRCgovuk app,” The HMRC app provides easy access to information about tax, National Insurance, tax credits and benefits. It allows users to check their tax code, National Insurance number, income and benefits, as well as employment and income history from the past five years.
Additionally, the app can be used to check tax credits, payment dates, amounts to be received, Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) for Self Assessment, Self Assessment tax, outstanding amounts, and Child Benefit.
The app allows you to check your State Pension forecast and any gaps in National Insurance contributions. It can also be used to estimate the tax you need to pay, make a Self Assessment payment, make a Simple Assessment payment and set reminders for such payments, reports Birmingham Live.
Additionally, it enables you to report changes in tax credits and complete renewals, access your Help to Save account, use a tax calculator to determine your take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance deductions, track forms and letters sent to HMRC, and claim refunds if you’ve overpaid tax. The digital assistant from HMRC is available for help and information.
You can update your name and address, save your National Insurance number to your digital wallet, check for gaps in your National Insurance contributions and the benefits of paying them, check if you can make a payment for gaps in your National Insurance contributions and opt for electronic contact from HMRC instead of letter correspondence. To use the app, open it and enter your Government Gateway user ID and password for the first sign-in.
If you don’t have a user ID, you can create one via the app. Subsequent access to the app can be achieved quickly and easily by signing in using either a 6-digit PIN or your fingerprint or facial recognition.