The deadline for people to plug gaps in their National Insurance record to ensure they get the full state pension has been softened. Concerns over a rush of last-minute inquiries mean anyone who requests a call back from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on the issue will not be regarded as having missed the 5 April deadline. People can currently make voluntary extra contributions to plug National Insurance gaps back to 2006.
After April’s deadline, this will be limited to the previous six years only. Some people may have spaces in their National Insurance record if, for example, they have lived abroad or taken time off for caring responsibilities. People generally need 35 years of qualifying contributions to get the full state pension.
Top-ups have been permitted as part of the transition to the flat-rate state pension introduced in 2016. Currently, these can go back nearly 20 years but are due to return to the normal six years after April. Pensions experts say that extra contributions may not suit every individual in these circumstances, so it is important to check whether they are worthwhile for their finances.
There is complexity about when and whether to top-up, which has meant many people have called the DWP’s Future Pension Centre or Pension Service to discuss their options.
National Insurance top-up extended deadline
Worries about clogged phone lines prompted the softening of the deadline.
Although this April’s deadline still stands, there will now be some leeway for anyone who struggles to get through on the phone. Anyone unable to contact the DWP before the deadline can use an online call-back request form. People who submit a call-back request by the 5 April deadline can still pay voluntary National Insurance Contributions back to April 2006 after the deadline has passed.
Anyone in this position should save a screenshot of their call-back confirmation message. A return call should come within eight weeks. A spokesman for the DWP said an online tool would allow people to make top-up payments after the 5 April deadline, provided they complete the call-back request form ahead of that date.
“This will enable us to ensure no one misses out and to manage demand as the deadline approaches suitably,” he said. Steve Webb, partner at consultants LCP and a former pensions minister, said: “After the chaos in the run-up to previous deadlines, it is good that the government has planned to make sure that people do not miss out simply because they cannot get through on official phone lines to discuss state pension top-ups.”
Anyone can obtain a state pension forecast without charge to decide if making a voluntary contribution is a good decision for them. People should also be alert to scams, from unsolicited messages relating to the issue, in the run-up to the deadline.
Image Credits: Photo by Vlad Deep on Unsplash
