Some people may be able to increase their retirement incomes by tens of thousands of pounds(Image: No credit)

DWP and HMRC State Pension warning as six month countdown begins

People are being urged to act now to boost their State Pension

by · PlymouthLive

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are warning people they have less than six months to act if they want to "maximise" their State Pension. People have until April 5, 2025, if they want to use a new system to boost their retirement incomes.

On Monday, October 7, HMRC said more than 10,000 payments worth £12.5 million have been made through the new digital service to increase people’s State Pension since it launched in April 2024. People can maximise their State Pension by making voluntary National Insurance contributions to fill any gaps in their NI record between April 6, 2006, and April 5, 2018, as long as they do so before the April 5 deadline.

The service enables people to check if they have gaps in their NI record, calculate if making a payment would increase their State Pension, and then make a payment if they wish to do so. Men born after April 6, 1951, and women born after April 6, 1953, are eligible to make voluntary NI contributions to boost their new State Pension, HMRC has said.

In 2023, the previous government extended the deadline to pay voluntary NI contributions to April 2025 for those affected by new State Pension transitional arrangements. The extended deadline means that people now have more time to "properly consider whether paying voluntary contributions is right for them and ensures no-one need miss out on the possibility of increasing their State Pension", according to a Gov.uk update.

You’ll need 10 qualifying years on your National Insurance record to get any new State Pension. A qualifying year is one in which you were working and made National Insurance contributions, getting National Insurance credits for example if you were unemployed, ill or a parent or carer, or paying voluntary National Insurance contributions.

People can "buy back" missing NI years, with this often proving very lucrative for some. According to Money Saving Expert, some people can make more than £50,000 in pension payments.