Check your National Insurance Contributions (NIC) Record
If you are planning to claim the UK state pension, you have until 5 April 2023 to check your National Insurance record and make voluntary contributions to plug any gaps in your NIC history.
Normally it is only possible to make voluntary contributions for the past six years, however, until 5 April 2023 there is an extension in place, which allows individuals to fill gaps from 6 April 2006 to the present day.
In general, to qualify for the maximum “new state pension” a person must have 35 qualifying years of NI contributions. For part payment, a person must have contributed for at least 10 years. For those whose NI record started before 6 April 2016, different rules may apply; the number of required years of NI contributions/credits to obtain the full state pension may be higher.
We suggest you Check your NI record before 5 April 2023, identify any discrepancies, missing NI credits, or shortfalls in contributions and get in touch with HMRC if you believe there are any errors.
If you would like our help with this, or in deciding whether to make voluntary NI contributions, please do get in touch.