The full New State Pension is now worth £230.25 per week.
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Martin Lewis has reassured people who were trying to top-up their State Pension before the deadline last month that they will not miss out on the chance to increase their retirement income. People were able to plug gaps in their National Insurance – which determines the amount of State Pension someone receives – until the end of the 2024/25 financial year on April 5.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) urged people to arrange a callback before the deadline to ensure they would not miss out.
During the Martin Lewis Money Show Live summer special on ITV on Tuesday, the consumer champion explained that DWP will make the callbacks, but is dealing with a backlog and prioritising those closest to State Pension age.
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Robert contacted the programme about the issues and said: “My wife and I have requested calls with the DWP about our State Pension. As of yet, neither of us has received a call. At what point should we be getting worried that they haven’t called us?”
Martin responded: “I’ve had calls in to the DWP about this and I’ve had half an answer, I’m still waiting on the other half. The basic answer is they’re prioritising people at State Pension age, or near State Pension age so that they will get their uplift straightaway – or as soon as possible.
“The younger you are, the further away you are from State Pension age you are, the lower down the queue you will likely be. Should you be worried? No.”
He continued; “Some people are getting calls now, but many people haven’t had calls. What I haven’t had an answer from the DWP is, how long this process is likely to take – my guess is it could be another three or four months so I wouldn’t be panicking yet.”
The financial guru added that he will post updates from the DWP on his social media channels as soon as he has them.
He added: “The truth of it is, as long as you made the call before the 6th of April deadline, once the DWP calls you, you’re still going to be able to get it within the cut-off.”
People were able to buy missing NI years going back as far as 2006 before the April deadline, now they can only buy voluntary NI contributions going back six tax years – to 2019.
It’s important to be aware that plugging NI gaps can only help boost payments for those who reached State Pension age after April 2016 who are not in receipt of the full weekly rate of the New State Pension – now worth £230.25 per week, or those under the current State Pension age of 66.
How to get any New State Pension payment
You will need at least 10 qualifying years on your National Insurance record to qualify for any State Pension, but they don’t have to be 10 qualifying years in a row.
This means for 10 years at least one or more of the following applied to you:
- you were working and paid National Insurance contributions
- you were getting National Insurance credits for example if you were unemployed, ill, a parent or a carer
- you were paying voluntary National Insurance contributions
If you have lived or worked abroad you might still be able to get some New State Pension.
You might also qualify if you have paid married women’s or widow’s reduced rate contributions – find out more about this on the GOV.UK website here.
How to get full New State Pension payments
The first thing to understand is that the term ‘full’ means the maximum amount of New State Pension a person can receive.
You will need around 35 qualifying years to receive the full New State Pension if you do not have a National Insurance record before 6 April 2016 – this may be more if you were ‘contracted out’, find out more here.
For people who have contributed between 10 and 35 years, they are entitled to a portion of the new State Pension, but not the full amount unless they buy additional NI years.
Qualifying years if you are working
When you are working you pay National Insurance and get a qualifying year if:
- you’re employed and earning over £242 a week from one employer
- you’re self-employed and paying NI contributions
You might not pay National Insurance contributions because you’re earning less than £242 a week. You may still get a qualifying year if you earn between £123 and £242 a week from one employer – find out more here.
Qualifying years if you are not working
You may get National Insurance credits if you cannot work – for example because of illness or disability, or if you’re a carer or you’re unemployed.
You can get National Insurance credits if you:
- claim Child Benefit for a child under 12 (or under 16 before 2010)
- get Jobseeker’s Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance
- receive Carer’s Allowance
If you are not working or getting National Insurance credits
You might be able to pay voluntary National Insurance contributions if you’re not in one of these groups but want to increase your State Pension amount. Find out more on the GOV.UK website here.
What if there are gaps in your National Insurance record?
You can have gaps in your NI record and still get the full New State Pension. You can get a State Pension statement which will tell you how much State Pension you may get. You can then apply for a National Insurance statement from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to check if your record has gaps.
If you have gaps in your National Insurance record that would prevent you from getting the full New State Pension, you may be able to:
- get National InsuranceI credits
- make voluntary National Insurance contributions
Check your National Insurance record on GOV.UK here.
Check your State Pension age
Check your State Pension age to find out when you can retire and claim State pension using the free online tool at GOV.UK here.
This will tell you:
- when you will reach State Pension age
- your Pension Credit qualifying age
We have a dedicated section for the latest news on the State Pension here.
