The State Pension changed in April 2016, replacing the old basic and additional State Pension and ending contracting-out, as well as the National Insurance (NI) rebate. If you are due to reach the State Pension age after 6th April 2016, this could mean your new State Pension may reflect the lower levels of NI paid by you and your employer.
The previous government extended the deadline to pay voluntary NI contributions on State Pensions to 5th April 2025 for those who were affected by these changes. Our personal tax team explains what this means for you and what actions you may need to take to amend your state pension gaps.
Am I affected by the State Pension changes?
Men born on or after 6th April 1951 and women born on or after 6th April 1953 may be eligible for the new state pension.
The State Pension is based on the number of qualifying years within a person’s NI record. A year can be considered a qualifying year if a person has paid sufficient NI or qualified for NI credits for the year. A non-qualifying year is one that contains gaps in a person’s NI record.
What is the deadline to pay voluntary National Insurance contributions?
It may be possible to fill the gaps between the qualifying years in a record by making voluntary NI contributions, however it is important that the contributions are made within the deadline for the years where there was a gap.
The deadline to pay voluntary NI contributions is 5th April 2025 for:
- The tax years from 6th April 2018 to 5th April 2024, under the rules normally applying
- The tax years from 6th April 2006 to 5th April 2018, under the extension announced by the previous government.
From 6th April 2025, you will no longer be able to make voluntary NI contributions for the tax years between 6th April 2006 and 5th April 2019, you will only be able to make voluntary contributions for the past six years.
How to make voluntary National Insurance contributions
HMRC has recommended that you check your NI record by requesting a paper statement or using its online service to calculate whether making a voluntary contribution will increase your state pension before making any payments.
To make a payment, you can use the ‘pay by bank account’ option when using the online service, which will show on your NI record within 5 working days.
Our team of personal tax experts encourage you to take action as soon as possible to avoid missing the deadline. If you are looking to make voluntary National Insurance contributions, you can do so through the HMRC website which is linked here.
