State pensioners urged to top up NI as average shortfall is over £725 a year

People are encouraged to check if they can increase their as the average payout is currently more than £725 a year below the full amount.

figures show the average full payout is £209.49 a week for men while women get on average £205 a week.

Using an average between these two amounts, of £207.25 a week, this is £13.95 a week below the full new of £221.20, a shortfall of £725.40 a year.

You typically need 35 years of National Insurance (NI) contributions to get the full new .

The issue is a growing concern as the number of people on the new increased by 730,000 people over the year to May 2024, an increase of over a fifth.

People on the pre-1026 basic typically get more than the current full basic amount, which is £169.50 a week.

Male claimants get on average £217.15 a week while women get £186.03 a week. This is due to extra payments some people get as part of the old scheme, such as through the state earnings-related pension scheme (SERPS).

Now is a good time to consider paying voluntary NI contributions towards your as you can do over an extended period.

Usually, you can only buy contributions up to six years ago, but this is currently extended by another 10 years, as far back as the 2006/2007 tax year.

You can check if you have any gaps in your National Insurance record by viewing your record .

You can also find out how much you are on track to receive using the , which show if you can increase the amount by topping up.

The age is currently 66 for both men and women although will increase to 67 in stages between 2026 and 2028.

It will go up again from 67 to 68 between 2044 and 2046, although this second transition could be brought forward.

payments increase each year in line with the , which is delivering a 4.1 percent boost to payments next year.

With the increase, the full new will go up from £221.20 a week to £230.30 a week, while the full basic is going up from £169.50 a week to £176.45 a week.