Anyone approaching the retirement age of 66 needs to make sure they have the complete number of National Insurance credits to claim their full state pension – there are just weeks left to make up payments
Experts have warned there is potentially big money to be made by checking your National Insurance records are up to date, but time is running out.
Pensioners born before 1959 urgently need to make sure their National Insurance (NI) records are up to date. To claim the full, new state pension they will normally need 35 years of credits. If you fall into this category there is still time to check your personal details and rectify any issues but the clock is ticking. A deadline of April 5 has been set, which is just weeks away, to fill any gaps in your contributions.
Currently the full new state pension is £221.20 a week but how much you receive depends on your full qualifying NI years which are collected through working and paying NI. You can also collect them through caring for others and claiming benefits.
If you are short, at the moment you can voluntarily plug any gaps from 2006 until 2016 but after April 5, that will change to just the last six years. For those who are employed it costs £17.45 per week to pay for NI credits, which works out at £907.40 per year. Each year of full credit will pay £6.32 more per week in State Pension, which is £328.64 annually and that’s before any yearly increases are added.
It’s not just those born before 1959 who should check their records. Anyone between the ages of 40 to around 73 should get in quick before the deadline expires and see where they stand. Experts say some could stand to make over £50,000 in boosts to their state pension.
Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis ’ website states: “This is big money. It’s the most lucrative thing many under the age of 73 can do, and some gain £10,000s,” adding: “Those at or near State Pension age will find it relatively easy to see if topping up may help. If your State Pension is, or is forecast to be, less than £221.20 a week, and you won’t be able to plug gaps by any other means, topping up could be a no-brainer.”
To check your own records use the online tool at gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record Since it was launched last April, HMRC says almost 40,000 people have topped up to maximise their state pensions, equalling £35million in payments.
Providing you live more than three years beyond your state pension age, you should have made back the cost of plugging the gap. However before you fork out to, do make sure to verify whether you automatically qualified for National Insurance credits during the years in question and how your individual circumstances may affect your future pension.