Do you have a national insurance gap?

Post by Mearns & Company in News

An important pension deadline has been extended.

In 2013, as part of the launch of the new state pension, the government announced that until 5 April 2023 people could fill in gaps in their national insurance contribution (NIC) record between April 2006 and April 2016. The offer was potentially valuable because under the new pension regime, a ten-year minimum of NIC contributions (including any NIC credits) are needed for any state pension entitlement. In theory, for someone with a nine-year NIC record, filling in just a single year’s gap – typically at a current cost of £829.40 – means the difference between no state pension and one of just over £3,000 a year.

In early 2023, this opportunity belatedly gained the national press coverage it deserved, resulting in HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions being swamped with enquiries. The government has responded by extending the deadline to 31 July.

If you think this could affect you, do not wait any longer to act.