THOUSANDS of people were blocked from checking and topping up their State Pensions ahead of the crucial deadline – but there’s still a chance.
Many people are worried they may have missed their chance to boost their future payouts.
But don’t panic just yet – it’s not too late to fix it.
If you were affected, HMRC has confirmed it will reach out directly and give you another shot at filling any gaps in your National Insurance (NI) record.
The 5 April deadline was the final opportunity to check and fill in gaps in your NI record from 2006 to 2018.
Filling gaps in your NI record is a crucial part of the transitional measures introduced when the new State Pension system was launched in 2016.
By making sure you have enough years of NI to show, you can rest assured that HMRC will qualify you for the full amount of State Pension.
Those aged 40 to 73 have been urged to act before the deadline, as topping up could mean a significant boost to your State Pension – potentially worth thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of pounds over your lifetime.
To qualify for the full State Pension, you need at least 35 years of NI contributions (currently worth £230.25 a week).
Many people don’t have enough years to claim the full amount, and topping up can help fill those gaps.
Normally, you can only make top-ups for the past six years of your NI record.
But here’s where things went wrong: on the crucial 5 April deadline, HMRC’s online service, which allows people to make payments for missing years between 2006 and 2021, went down early – a full day before it was scheduled to go offline.
This caused confusion for the 21,000 people who tried to log in on 5 April to make their top-ups, only to be told that the deadline had already passed.
But don’t worry, because HMRC has promised to contact everyone who was affected by this error directly.
If you were unable to top up your NI record because of this issue, you will get another chance to fill those gaps.
You won’t need to reach out to HMRC or DWP – they will be in touch with you soon.
If you haven’t heard anything yet and are worried they won’t reach out, it is a good idea to hold onto any proof, like screenshots, of the error.
With this, you could try contacting HMRC through its National Insurance channels in the meantime.
HMRC said: “We’re sorry that customers were unable to use our online service on Saturday to top up National Insurance contributions for years prior to 2021.
“We will contact anyone affected directly about the payments they wanted to make to ensure they don’t miss out.”
This issue didn’t affect the separate DWP call-back form, which remained available over the weekend.
If you submitted a request by 5 April, you’ll still be contacted and can purchase missing years back to 2006.
The DWP is prioritising those nearing State Pension age.
Steve Webb, partner at pension consultants LCP said: “There is always a rush of activity just before deadlines, so the system should have been set up to allow top-up payments right up to the final day.
“It is good news however that those who logged on to pay last-minute top-ups should not lose out as HMRC has undertaken to contact them and allow payments after the deadline.
“More generally, there were no doubt thousands of people who registered their interest via the DWP’s callback service and those calls now need to proceed at pace so that people can sort out their top-ups as soon as possible.”
And don’t forget, while the deadline for topping up years from 2006 to 2018 has passed, you can still make top-ups for the last six tax years, going back to 2019/20.
What are state pension errors?
STEVE Webb, partner at LCP and former Pensions Minister, explains what state pension errors are and how they can occur:
The way state pensions are worked out is so complicated that many thousands of people have been paid the wrong amount for years without even realising it.
The amount of retirement pension you get usually depends on your National Insurance (NI) record.
One big source of errors has been cases where NI records have been incorrect, particularly for years spent at home with children.
This is a system known as ‘Home Responsibilities Protection’.
Alternatively, particularly for older pensioners, the amount you get can depend on the NI contributions made by your spouse.
Errors have arisen where the Government has failed to adjust the pensions of married women when their husbands retired or failed to increase pensions when someone was bereaved and lost a husband or wife.
Although the Government has spent years trying to fix these problems, there are still many thousands of people – many of them older women – on the wrong pension.
If you have always thought that your pension seems low, then it is worth contacting the Pensions Service to ask them to check, especially if you spent time at home raising children or if you were widowed and your pension didn’t change when your spouse died.
HOW TO CHECK YOUR YEARS
If you suspect you’re missing National Insurance years, the first step is to check your State Pension forecast.
You can do this, along with finding out your State Pension age, using the government’s new ‘Check your State Pension’ tool at www.gov.uk/check-state-pension.
The tool is also available through the HMRC app, which can be downloaded for free on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
To access the tool, you’ll need to log in with your Personal Tax Account details. If you don’t have an online HMRC account yet, you can easily register at gov.uk.
The tool will show you how much your State Pension could increase and which National Insurance years you need to buy to reach that amount.
Once you know which years to top up, you can make payments securely online without needing to call HMRC separately.
Note that you must pay for these missing years in full – there’s no option to pay in instalments.
If you’re already receiving your State Pension, however, you won’t be able to use the online service. Instead, you’ll need to contact the Pension Service at 0800 731 0469.
Before you go ahead and buy additional National Insurance years, it’s important to check if you were eligible for free credits during any of those years.
For more on how to check your State Pension forecast and how to fill any gaps in your National Insurance record, Martin Lewis has a useful Topping Up State Pension guide on moneysavingexpert.com.
HOW TO CHECK FOR NATIONAL INSURANCE CREDITS
Before making any voluntary National Insurance contributions, it’s crucial to check if you can fill the gaps with free NI credits.
Thousands of people are believed to be missing out on these credits, potentially leaving them worse off in retirement.
For instance, individuals receiving certain benefits may qualify for Class 1 credits, including parents who are actively claiming child benefit.
To find out if you’re eligible for these free credits, visit www.gov.uk/national-insurance-credits/eligibility.
The page provides a full list of who can claim credits, outlining both the situations where you’ll need to apply and those where credits are automatically awarded.
HOW TO TOP UP NATIONAL INSURANCE YEARS
In some cases, buying back missing National Insurance years can be highly beneficial, but it does come at a cost.
Voluntary contributions aren’t free, and you’ll pay the 2022/23 rates for contributions if you’re filling gaps between 2006/07 and 2015/16.
The cost is £15.85 per week, or £824.20 for one year of contributions.
While the state pension was £185.15 per week in 2022/23, this boost would add £5.29 weekly, or about £275 annually.
If you pay £8,242 for 10 years of contributions, the annual pension boost could be around £2,750.
Over 20 years of retirement, that would add up to approximately £55,000 before tax.
Anyone under 73 can make voluntary contributions, and if you’re under state pension age, you can check your forecast at www.gov.uk/check-state-pension to see if it’s worth paying.
How does the state pension work?
AT the moment the current state pension is paid to both men and women from age 66 – but it’s due to rise to 67 by 2028 and 68 by 2046.
The state pension is a recurring payment from the government most Brits start getting when they reach State Pension age.
But not everyone gets the same amount, and you are awarded depending on your National Insurance record.
For most pensioners, it forms only part of their retirement income, as they could have other pots from a workplace pension, earning and savings.
The new state pension is based on people’s National Insurance records.
Workers must have 35 qualifying years of National Insurance to get the maximum amount of the new state pension.
You earn National Insurance qualifying years through work, or by getting credits, for instance when you are looking after children and claiming child benefit.
If you have gaps, you can top up your record by paying in voluntary National Insurance contributions.
To get the old, full basic state pension, you will need 30 years of contributions or credits.
You will need at least 10 years on your NI record to get any state pension.
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