18 December 2024
The previous government extended a deadline allowing people to pay voluntary contributions to make up for gaps in their National Insurance (NI) record between April 2006 and April 2016, if eligible. After 5 April 2025, you’ll only be able to pay voluntary contributions for the past six years.
The extension allows people to rebuild their NI credits so they can get the full State Pension – a boost that is particularly useful for people who took time out to raise a family, carers and those who’ve worked abroad.
You can use the digital service at www.gov.uk/check-state-pension to check if you have gaps in your NI record and see by how much your State Pension could increase – and how much it would cost.
If you have gaps, you might be able to plug them for free, in certain circumstances, with National Insurance credits.
Even if you can’t get National Insurance credits, you should work out whether it’s worth buying back years. Not everyone’s circumstances are the same, and it might not be worthwhile in all situations.