THOUSANDS of households could get more time to boost their pension pot by £10,000.
Right now, millions aged between 45 and 70 who are set to receive the new state pension and but missing National Insurance contributions (NICs) can plug gaps back to 2006.
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Households have until April 5 to backdate any missing payments in the last 17 years.
After this date, households will only be able to backdate payments by up to six years.
But the Government has today said it will continue to consider contributions made by people to boost their state pensions, even after the looming deadline passes.
It said that if customers are unable to pay voluntary contributions by April 5 2023 for reasons beyond their control, it will consider payments made after the cut-off.
You need 35 years’ worth of NICs to get the full pension amount which is currently £185.15 per week.
But you might have gaps in your NICs if you were not earning enough, or were unemployed and not claiming benefits.
Anyone wanting to check to see if they’re eligible to buy back years can do so on Gov.UK.
It’s also important to check if you can claim free NICs credit, for example, when you temporarily stopped working to look after children.
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A Government spokesperson said: “Voluntary national insurance contributions do not always increase your state pension.
“Customers should make sure they would benefit before making any payments, including to fill gaps in their national insurance records between April 6 2006 and April 5 2016.
“The quickest and easiest way for customers to see information about their state pension and national insurance record is online.
“If customers are unable to pay voluntary contributions by April 5 2023 for reasons beyond their control, we will consider payments made after the deadline on a case-by-case basis.”
Consumer champion and MoneySavingExpert founder Martin Lewis has been highlighting the opportunity for people to boost their state pension.
How can I top up my new state pension?
How much you can get for the new state pension depends on your National Insurance contributions.
You can get the full amount if you have made 35 years’ worth and have to have made 10 years to get at least something.
But you can top up any missing gaps in your NI record through voluntary contributions.
Steve Webb, LCP partner and former pensions minister, previously told The Sun topping up contributions can get people a better “rate of return” than other ways of saving.
But you have to pay if you want to plug any gaps.
Earning back your missing NI years costs £15.85 a week so it will work out as £824.20 to buy one year of contributions.
Steve said as an extreme case, someone who misses the April 5 deadline to fill their gaps would lose the chance to top up another 10 years of NI contributions.
This would be the period between 2006/07 to 2015/16.
Although you’d have to pay £8,242 (10 lots of £824.20), the annual state pension boost would be around £2,750.
So someone who was retired for 20 years would get back around £55,000 in total, before tax.
How you can claim voluntary contributions depends on which type you are going for.
For example, if you want to buy Class 2 National Insurance contributions you can pay for them as part of your Self Assessment tax bill.
Or you can pay for them online on Gov.UK.
But you’ll need your online banking details and the 18-digit reference number shown on your HMRC payment request ready.
You’ll need your Class 2 National Insurance reference number to hand as well.
If you want to buy Class 3 contributions you can pay on Gov.UK as well.
You’ll need your Class 3 National Insurance reference number to hand though.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that voluntary contributions won’t always increase your state pension.
If you have the budget, you can pay a financial advisor to see whether it’s worth you buying them back.
Who can claim National Insurance credits?
It is important to check if the gaps in your contributions can be plugged with free NICs credits.
Thousands are thought to be missing out on these NI Credits, leaving them worse off in retirement.
For example, those on certain benefits should qualify for Class 1 credits.
You can check the full list of who’s eligible for claiming credits on the government website.
It explains the circumstances where you’ll need to claim and when you’ll get it automatically.
