There are new requirements for those born before 1959 to claim the new State Pension
Pensioners born before 1959 have been warned of a new requirement they must meet in order to claim the new State Pension in full, and the deadline to meet it is “fast approaching”.
State pensioners born before the year mentioned above need 35 years of National Insurance credits in order to claim the full, new State Pension.
Experts have advised those who are approaching retirement to boost their entitlement by filling gaps in their National Insurance records dating back to 2006.
And the deadline to claim their backdated National Insurance contributions (NICs) falls in a few weeks- on April 5, 2025.
After the deadline, individuals will only be able to make voluntary contributions for the past six years of National Insurance credits.
The cost of purchasing National Insurance credits for those who are employed is £17.45 per week or £907.40 for a year, reported Birmingham Live.
And each complete year of National Insurance purchased by those approaching retirement will provide up to £6.32 more per week in their State Pension. This adds £328.64 to your pension annually, before any yearly increases are applied.
Jonathan Watts-Lay, the director at WEALTH at work, said: “With the April 5 deadline fast approaching, it is important for those who think they may have not built enough entitlement to receive the full state pension to check their records now.”
Watts-Lay said: “Those who have a gap of more than six years in National Insurance contributions, which may include those who have taken a career break, have worked abroad or had time off for child or elderly care, may want to consider filling these gaps in their record now.”
Earlier this year, an online tool was launched to make the process of checking and buying NI contributions easier.
HMRC says 10,000 top-ups have been paid for using the online tool since its launch, with the largest resulting weekly state pension increase being £107.44- around £5,600 a year.
