Voluntary National Insurance contributions to boost your State Pension – Deadline extension
The government has recently announced a further extension to the deadline for making voluntary National Insurance (NI) contributions to boost your State Pension.
The new deadline is the 5th of April 2025.
What does this mean?
The government is changing the criteria for repaying shortfalls in NI contributions.
In order to receive the new State Pension in full (currently £203.85 per week), you must have 35 ‘qualifying years’ of NI contributions. If your qualifying years are lower than this, you will be entitled to a lower State Pension. However, you may be able to boost this amount by making voluntary NI contributions.
Currently, you can repay any shortfalls dating back to April 2006. After this deadline, you will only be able to repay shortfalls within the last 6 tax-years. This deadline was originally effective from the 5th of April 2023, but has subsequently changed to the 5th of April 2025.
What to do if I think this applies to me?
We strongly recommend enquiring about your State Pension entitlement with HMRC. You can do this by requesting a State Pension forecast, either by:
- Logging onto your personal HMRC Online Services account
- Or by, calling 0300 200 3500
Once you have received your forecast, do not hesitate to get in touch with us. Any shortfall can be identified, and voluntary NI contributions can be considered. It is important to note that not everyone will benefit from making a voluntary NI contribution.
If it becomes clear that you will benefit from making a voluntary NI contribution, contacting the Future Pension Centre on 0800 731 0175 will help you identify the most appropriate and cost-effective years to repay. If any shortfalls are identified and you decide to make payment, a list of payment methods can be found here.
Please get in touch if you wish to discuss this further with us.
