Yahoo News Martin Lewis says everyone born in these years can get £6,100 handout - but you need to act fast
Martin Lewis has revealed that individuals born between specific dates could be entitled to a £5,400 government pay out, but the deadline to claim is rapidly approaching. The money-saving expert is encouraging people to verify their eligibility and submit a claim as soon as possible.
The new state pension, launched in 2016, applies to all men born after April 5, 1951, and women born after April 5, 1953. If you were born after these dates, you might be able to claim additional National Insurance years.
To achieve this, you'll need to 'buy back' any missing years from your record, which could be due to various reasons such as living abroad or not earning enough in a certain year. You can buy back missed years as far back as 2006, but this opportunity will cease before April 2025.
Although it may seem like there's ample time with 11 months remaining, the process isn't swift and you may need to save up to buy the years back. Each year costs a maximum of £824 to reclaim, but you'll receive approximately £329 back into your state pension per year, meaning you'd be 'in profit' in less than three years.
According to Martin Lewis, men who live an average lifespan could gain about £5,400 and women, due to a longer life expectancy, could gain around £6,100 through this scheme, reports the Express, reports Belfast Live.
Offering advice via his MoneySavingExpert website, he said: "While many have told me it can be a pain in the bum to get to speak to someone on these lines, once they do, most say it's brilliantly helpful. Such as Tom: "A huge THANK YOU about the NI advice and phoning the pensions people. I was missing 9yrs.
"I phoned to be told all I needed to buy was 7yrs to qualify me for an extra £40/wk [so £2,000/yr]. If I hadn't phoned, I'd probably have paid the full £7,500 and lost about £1,800. I'm now looking forward to receiving the full pension."
