The government have announced an extension to the transitional arrangements for buying National Insurance (NI) gaps in their State Pension history.
The voluntary NI deadline has been extended to 31 July 2023, which was previously due to end on 5 April 2023. This means taxpayers have more time to decide whether to fill any gaps in their NI record dating back to April 2006, to boost their new State Pension.
As part of transitional arrangements to the new State Pension, eligible taxpayers can make voluntary contributions to any incomplete years between 2006 and April 2016. After the arrangement ends on 31 July 2023, taxpayers can only fill gaps going back 6 years.
Shaun Davison, tax consultant:
“It is welcoming news that the government have extended the arrangements for back dating missing NI years.
The extension to the transitional arrangements will allow people more time to obtain a State Pension forecast and decide if making a voluntary National Insurance contribution is worthwhile for them and their pension.
Those with a full State Pension can currently receive up to £203.85 a week from State retirement age but will often need a full 35 qualifying years in order to obtain this amount.
We encourage individuals to check their National Insurance record, either through the HMRC application or their Personal Tax Account, to check how may qualifying National Insurance years have been built up to date and identify any gaps in their NI history.”