DWP makes it easier to claim £1,000s extra for State Pension

DWP have made it easier to claims £1,000s extra in State Pension. A new online service launched on Monday, April 29 makes it easier for customers to check for and fill any gaps in their National Insurance (NI) to increase their State Pension.

The Check Your State Pension forecast tool shows you how much your State Pension could increase if you pay certain voluntary NI contributions. You can do this under State Pension age.

Anyone with NI gaps in some of their tax years can use the service to choose which years they would like to pay to fill. Their NI record will then be updated and State Pension updated accordingly.

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Paying voluntary contributions will not always increase your State Pension but the service will allow you to check this. Gaps in your record could be due to living and paying tax abroad, being unemployed and not claiming benefits, being employed and having low earnings or being in prison.

Spending a few thousand to fill the gaps could boost your State Pension payments by tens of thousands. Sometimes you can even fill these gaps for free with NI credits if you were not working or not earning enough to pay NI.

Customers can access the Check your State Pension forecast via GOV.UK or via the HMRC app. You have until April 5, 2025 to make up gaps from NI years between April 6, 2006 and April 5, 2018.

After this you will only be able to pay voluntary contributions for the previous six tax years. Nigel Huddleston, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, said: “Having peace of mind when planning for retirement is crucial to ensure people can enjoy later life.

"That’s why HMRC has launched this new online service today, making a real difference for thousands of pensioners in their retirement while providing certainty to those in their middle years and those still planning ahead.”

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