Reminder: deadline to plug National Insurance gaps approaching

24 March 2025

Time is running out for those who want to boost their State Pension by paying for missing National Insurance (NI) years. 

The deadline to fill gaps in your NI record dating back to 2006 is 5 April 2025. 

If you’re a man born after 5 April 1951 or a woman born after 5 April 1953, you can currently fill gaps between 2006 and 2018. If you were born before these dates, you can fill gaps between 2016 and 2018.

But from 6 April 2025, the extended window closes. You’ll then only be able to fill gaps for the past six years of missing contributions.

Why does this matter? Under the New State Pension system, you usually need 35 qualifying years of NI contributions or credits to receive the full weekly pension of £221.20. Gaps in your record – due to unemployment, career breaks or time spent raising a family – could mean you’ll receive less.

Paying for missing years isn’t cheap, costing around £800 to £900 per year, but it could add thousands to your retirement income over time. For example, plugging a single missing year could increase your State Pension by around £328 per year, meaning someone who lives for 20 years after retiring could gain over £6,500 in extra payments.

If you were to top up ten missing years of contributions, you might have to pay just over £8,200. However, the £3,286 annual State Pension boost would add just under £100,000 if you go on to live 30 years after retiring.

Don’t miss out on potentially thousands of extra income

Martin Lewis recently spoke about the deadline to 5 Live’s Adrian Chiles. He said: “This is all about the new State Pension which started in April 2016… The years between 2006 and 2019 - this is your last opportunity. If you haven’t got them and you need them and you have to buy them… Otherwise, you lose that opportunity.”

With demand rising, there is always the risk of HMRC delays in processing payments, so it’s best to act sooner rather than later:

• Visit the Gov.uk website to check your National Insurance record here.

• Check your State Pension forecast here to see how much you are on track to receive and information on how to increase it.

Source

The deadline to fill gaps in your NI record dating back to 2006 is 5 April 2025. Mind the gap: why filling the holes in your NI record could pay dividends. The Guardian. Accessed 18 March 2025.