Deadline for state pension top ups extended to April 2025

The Government has today announced a further extension to the deadline for paying voluntary NI contributions to top up state pension entitlement.

People can normally fill in gaps in their NI record over the previous six years. However as part of the transitional arrangements to the new state pension in 2016, people have been able to make voluntary contributions to fill up any gaps in their NI record between April 2006 and April 2016.

The government’s original plan was a 5th April 2023 deadline for people to pay back historic years of NI contributions, and this had already been extended to 31st July 2023.

However, many people had reported continuing problems in getting through either to DWP’s Future Pension Centre or to HMRC’s payment line, with less than 7 weeks to the revised deadline.

The Government has today announced a further major extension to 5th April 2025 – two years beyond the deadline originally planned. The intention is that this will spread the load of calls and give time for more staff to be trained to cope with the high level of interest.

Although individuals can go on the gov.uk website for a run-down on their NI record, including costs of filling different gap years, that website does not specify which years a person should fill, and even includes prices for years which the individual should not fill because it would not boost their state pension.

This is why it is vital for people to discuss their individual record with the Future Pension Centre, according to former pensions minister and partner at LCP, Steve Webb.

Steve Webb commented: “I am delighted that the Government has announced a major extension to the deadline for paying voluntary NI to top up state pensions. This is a complex area with great potential for people to improve their position but also the risk that they may get things wrong.

"It is essential that people can talk through their options with the DWP before making any payments, and this has simply been impossible for too many people because of lack of phone capacity. This significant extension should give time to train up enough people to handle the volume of calls that are now being made and enable everyone to take advantage of this opportunity if it is right for them.”

Alice Haine, personal finance analyst at Bestinvest, added: "The Government’s decision to extend the deadline for taxpayers looking to plug National Insurance shortfalls by almost two years is no surprise when you consider the long delays in the system. One taxpayer reported checking the status of their application to make up a shortfall to be told the system was still processing requests from August 2022.

"The good news is that Britons with gaps in their National Insurance record no longer need to panic about running out of time to make up a gap and receive the full pension income they are entitled to. Buying back missed years is a great way to bolster retirement income with this window of opportunity to backdate contributions all the way to 2006 something not to be ignored.

"The deadline extension will not only give the Government time to catch up on the volume of enquiries, but also allow more taxpayers to find out if they would benefit from making up any missing years. The extra time will also give those that will gain from making up a shortfall the chance to build up funds to cover the cost, which can run into the thousands depending on how many missing years they have on their record."