State Pension warning as Brits told to act now or miss out on full amount

David Bentley

20 April 2024 at 0:00 pm·3-min read

A pensioner couple checking their finances — People are being urged to check for any gaps in their State Pension contributions as there is just under a year left to rectify the issue -Credit:shared content unit

A fresh State Pension alert has been issued urging people to check what they should be getting and take action to top it up to the full amount before the deadline. There's now just under 12 months left to fill any gaps you find in your National Insurance contributions.

Everyone's State Pension entitlement is determined by the number of qualifying National Insurance years they have. People typically need at least 10 qualifying years of contributions to receive any State Pension at all and at least 35 years to receive the full amount of the New State Pension, which has just risen to £221.20 a week.

Alice Haine, Personal Finance Analyst at Bestinvest by Evelyn Partners, says: "Checking your tax account for any gaps in your National Insurance record quickly identifies whether you have enough qualifying years to receive a full State Pension – a valuable source of income considering the full New State Pension rose by 8.5 per cent earlier this month and is now worth £11,502 a year."

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She said the State Pension Forecast in your Personal Tax Account states what year you will receive your pension, the amount you will get weekly, monthly and per year (without factoring in inflation) according to your current and projected contribution level, and a forecast of what you will receive if you continue to pay in.

The record also lists the number of years with full NI contributions and the years where you may not have contributed enough. These are marked as 'year is not full' with guidance on how to fill them, which includes how much to pay in voluntary contributions.

People who may need to top up include those who took a career break as well as low earners or expatriates living and working abroad. Plugging any gaps will ensure you receive your full State Pension entitlement later on.

Ms Haine said: "Whether someone needs to top up depends on how many more years they plan to work, as they may or may not have enough time to make up the shortfall, or whether they are eligible for NI tax credits, which fill the gaps, such as those who are sick, were unemployed or took time out to raise a family or care for elderly relations.

"Remember, taxpayers can typically only backdate their NI contribution history by six years. However, the Government is currently allowing people to pay for gaps on their NI record all the way back to April 2006.

"While the deadline for this one-off concession was initially April 2023, this was extended twice last year due to high demand. This unique window of opportunity to plug up to 17 years of missed NI contributions in one go closes on April 5, 2025, so it is imperative taxpayers take advantage while they can."

You can check your State Pension Forecast on GOV.UK once you've proved your identity using Government Gateway. Get breaking news on BirminghamLive WhatsApp. Join our dedicated community to get the latest updates.

You can find out more in our Money Saving Newsletter which is sent out daily with all the updates you need to know on pensions, benefits, finances, bills and shopping discounts.

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