Pensioners don’t have long left to maximise their State Pension by thousands of pounds (Image: Getty)
State pensioners have been issued a warning they have just one month left to boost their pension pot by up to £60,000.
The boost comes from filling in gaps in your (NI) record, which could potentially top up by thousands, but there is a strict deadline by which to do it.
() has warned that people only have until April 5, 2025, to plug these NI gaps, which is now just a matter of weeks away.
Up to this date, pensioners can fill in any NI record gaps from April 6, 2006, onwards. But from April 6, 2025, people will only be able to make NI voluntary contributions for the previous six years, in line with normal time limits.
An in April last year to allow people to check if they have any gaps in their NI record and calculate if making a payment would increase their pension pot.
Since the launch of this tool, said around 37,000 people have topped up more than 68,000 NI years, with the average online top up payment amounting to £1,835 and the largest weekly increase being £113.76.
So if you got the largest weekly amount of £113.76 over the course of a year, this would amount to an extra £5,915.52 in your pension – and if you lived another 10 years after boosting your savings, this would give you an extra £60,000.
Angela MacDonald, ’s Second Permanent Secretary and Deputy Chief Executive, warned: “Don’t delay – it is quick and easy to check your National Insurance record on GOV.UK and it could help your finances in retirement.”
NI contributions are usually collected through working and paying NI, but you can also get them if you’re claiming certain benefits. These contributions count towards your and you generally need around 35 full NI years to get the maximum amount.
Pensioners can use the app to check their NI record and buy back any missing NI years ahead of the April deadline. Your record will show every year since you were 16 and will say either ‘Full year’ or ‘Year is not full’ next, followed by a link to get more information. If you have any ‘not full’ years since 2006, it could be worth paying to fill these gaps to give your pension a boost.
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If you do have any gaps in your NI record you should check if you’re eligible for National Insurance credits first before deciding to pay voluntary contributions.
You can usually pay voluntary contributions for the past six years and the deadline is April 5 each year, but you can sometimes pay for gaps from more than six years ago, depending on your age.
If you’re below age you can access your forecast on the app which will show how much you’ll get when you retire based on your NI record to date, and if you’ll benefit from paying voluntary contributions.