People warned to act fast to secure full State Pension

To qualify for any State Pension, at least 10 years of contributions are necessary, while a full New State Pension now rose to £221.20 requires at least 35 years

People are being warned to act fast to secure their full State Pension amount, as a new alert has been issued. With less than a year remaining, individuals are encouraged to check their entitlement and address any National Insurance contribution gaps.

The amount someone receives from the State Pension is contingent on the number of qualifying National Insurance years. To qualify for any State Pension, at least 10 years of contributions are necessary, while a full New State Pension now rose to £221.20 requires at least 35 years.

Personal Finance Analyst Alice Haine from Bestinvest by Evelyn Partners says: Checking your tax account for any gaps in your National Insurance record quickly identifies whether you have enough qualifying years to receive a full State Pension a valuable source of income considering the full New State Pension increased by 8.5% earlier this month and is now worth £11,502 annually.

Haine further explains that the State Pension Forecast found in an individual’s Personal Tax Account provides details like the year an individual will start receiving pension, the expected weekly, monthly, and annual amounts (excluding inflation) based on current and projected contributions, and a forecast assuming continued payments, according to Birmingham Live.

People who may need to top up include those who took a career break as well as low earners or expatriates living and working overseas. Plugging any gaps will ensure one receives full State Pension entitlement later on.

Whether someone needs to top up depends on how many more years they plan to work, as they may or may not have enough time to make up the shortfall, or whether they are eligible for NI tax credits, which fill the gaps, such as those who are sick, were unemployed or took time out to raise a family or care for elderly relations, she said.

Remember, taxpayers can typically only backdate their NI contribution history by six years. Nevertheless, the Government is currently allowing people to pay for gaps on their NI record all the way back to April 2006, she said.

She added: While the deadline for this one-off concession was initially April 2023, this was extended twice last year because of high demand. This unique window of opportunity to plug up to 17 years of missed NI contributions in one go closes on April 5, 2025, so it is imperative taxpayers take advantage while they can.