State pensioners have been encouraged to check if they can boost their payments as some could be missing out on an extra £30,000 added to their income.
Many people approaching retirement or who are already claiming their state pension will be missing National Insurance (NI) years towards their payments, and by voluntarily buying contributions, they can increase their state pension amount.
Victoria Harris, head of finance at The Curve Platform, said: “The Government has extended the deadline for making up those National Insurance gaps to April 2025.
“So, if you’ve got a few missing years, now’s your chance to boost your state pension. This is particularly important if you’re counting on every penny for a comfortable retirement.”
You can usually top up contributions up to six tax years ago, but this period is currently extended as far back as the 2006/2007 tax year.
However, only months remain to take advantage of this extended period, as this offer ends at the end of this tax year, in April 2025.
Ms Harris crunched the numbers to show the huge difference topping up can make to your retirement income.
She said: “Each extra qualifying year adds around £302.86 to your state pension—doesn’t sound like much, but it adds up fast!
“Here’s an example: say you’re five years short on contributions. By covering those, you could bump up your annual state pension by £1,514.30. Over a 20-year retirement, that’s an extra £30,286 in your pocket.
“And with voluntary contributions typically costing between £800 and £900 per year, the math is definitely in your favour.”
A person typically needs 35 years of NI contributions to get the full new state pension of £221.20 a week.
So by topping up one year, you increase your state pension payments by one 35th, which is the same as £5.85 a week, or £302.86 a year.
The full basic state pension currently pays £169.50 a week. You can check your state pension entitlement using the state pension forecast tool on the Government website.
People of state pension age may also want to check if they can boost their income through claiming benefits. One hugely underclaimed benefit is Pension Credit, with the average claim providing £4,000 a year.
The benefit tops up a person’s income, up to £218.15 a week for single people and up to £332.95 for couples, with extra payments available depending on your situation.
Claiming the support also opens up access to other Government help such as a free TV licence for over 75s and the Winter Fuel Payment, which is worth £200 or £300 this year.
