Deadline looming for buying missing National Insurance years: check yours today!

Why do National Insurance years matter?

How much you receive of the ‘new’ state pension depends on how many ‘qualifying’ full national insurance (NI) years you have. You need at least 10 qualifying NI years to get some of the State Pension, and to get the full State Pension you’ll need at least 35 qualifying NI years.

You may be missing past NI years if you’ve ever spent time abroad, received a low income or had a career break. This might include those who have taken time off to raise children or care for somebody.

Normally you can buy back up to 6 years of NI years to top up your State Pension, but when the ‘new’ State Pension was introduced transitional arrangements were put in place, allowing you to go back and plug NI gaps as far back as 2006.

However this transitional arrangement ends on 5 April 2025!

What difference might this make?

In most cases, a full NI year costs £824 and this adds up to £328 each year onto your pre-tax State Pension. So without considering tax implications, as long as you live at least three years after getting your State Pension then it will be beneficial.

What do I need to do next?

• Check to see if you’re missing any full NI years, or have any incomplete years, since 2006 by viewing your national insurance record – Check your National Insurance record - GOV.UK
  
• Then check to see if you’re on track to receive the full state pension by viewing your state pension summary – Check your State Pension forecast - GOV.UK

If your state pension forecast is not the full £221.20 a week, and you have a gap in your NI record, then you may be able to boost years to get the full amount.

• If you have gaps in your record then look to see if you can plug them for free with NI credits. Please see further details National Insurance credits: Eligibility - GOV.UK to establish if you should have received NI credits.
• If you have gaps and are not entitled to NI credits then you should look at whether it’s beneficial for you to pay to boost your State Pension.
• Use the Government’s online service Check your State Pension forecast - GOV.UK to receive personalised information on how much your State Pension could increase by and the NI years needed to achieve this. You can then pay for these missing years securely online, once you’re happy it’s the right course of action for you.
• You can also call the Department for Work and Pensions, but if you struggle to speak with someone then use their ‘Request a Call Back Form’ Request a call back to pay voluntary National Insurance contributions - GOV.UK. Even if you don’t end up receiving a call back until after 5 April you will still be eligible for the transitional arrangements. We strongly suggest you take a picture of the form you fill in and a screen grab of the request sent for your records.
  
  And don’t forget, we’re here to help you! If you establish you have missing NI years, impacting your State Pension, please pick up the phone to your Financial Planner today.

This article should not be taken as advice.