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Could you boost your State Pension entitlement ahead of a key deadline in April 2025?
It was only a couple of short weeks ago when you were probably counting down to the start of 2025 with a glass of something bubbly in hand.
However, now that 1 January has been and gone, it’s important to turn your attention to the new year, and in particular the key deadlines coming up in the next 12 months.
This might be even more important this year. That’s because alongside the usual financial cut-offs, such as the self-assessment deadline (31 January) and the start of the new tax year (6 April), there is another date to note: 5 April 2025.
Not only is this the final day of the 2024/25 tax year, but it also marks the end of the extension for making additional voluntary contributions toward your National Insurance (NI) record.
Your NI record will determine whether you’ll receive the State Pension, and how much you’re eligible for. So, this could be an important deadline to consider as it could directly affect your retirement income.
Read on to discover the details of this extension, and why you may want to make the most of it while you can.
You can make additional contributions to your record going back to 2006
Throughout your working life, you’ll no doubt have become familiar with NI contributions (NICs). These will either have been deducted from your earnings if you are employed, or you will have paid them yourself if you own a business. You may also have made them voluntarily in certain years.
Your NI record is important as, among other important benefits, it determines your eligibility for the State Pension.
You need at least 35 qualifying years of contributions on your NI record to receive the full State Pension, and at least 10 years to receive anything at all.
Ordinarily, if you have gaps in your record for any reason (more on this later), you can make voluntary NICs for up to the previous six tax years.
However, when the government introduced the new State Pension (for men born on or after 6 April 1951, and women born on or after 6 April 1953) in 2016, they extended this window. Currently, you can make voluntary contributions as far back as 6 April 2006.
This extension was initially set to end in April 2023, before being moved to July 2023 and then to 5 April 2025.
With this deadline fast approaching, you may want to make the most of it, as filling gaps in your record now could be valuable in retirement.
Otherwise, you will only be able to fill gaps from the previous six tax years moving forwards.
There are various reasons why you might have gaps in your National Insurance record
Even if you have worked consistently throughout your career, either employed or self-employed, you may still have gaps in your NI record.
For example, you may not have made sufficient NICs in specific years if you:
- Lived or worked abroad
- Were not working while you cared for a child
- Had earnings below the NI threshold, or if you are self-employed, did not make NICs in years when profits were low.
So, even if you have worked consistently throughout your career and paid NICs on your earnings, it’s still worth checking your National Insurance record on the government website.
In doing so, you can find out whether you have any gaps, and how much it will cost you to fill them – you’ll pay NICs at the rate they were in the tax year you have the gap.
You may also have partially completed years in which you did make some NICs, but not enough for a full qualifying year on your record. In this instance, a small top up could allow you to contribute a whole qualifying NI year, potentially boosting what you can receive from the State Pension.
Additionally, you may be able to fill gaps for free using NI credits. Reasons that you may be able to do this include if you were/are:
- Caring for a child under 12, including grandparents and other family members
- Caring for a sick or disabled person
- Ill, disabled, or on Statutory Sick Pay
- Being paid Statutory Maternity, Paternity, or Adoption Pay.
Whatever your circumstances, it could be sensible to check your record ahead of the deadline.
The State Pension might be more valuable than you think
When it comes to funding your retirement, you likely envisage using savings from areas such as your private pensions. As a result, you might think that the State Pension will play a minimal role in your retirement income.
While it’s true that the State Pension is unlikely to provide enough to cover your entire lifestyle, it could still be valuable for two key reasons.
Firstly, once you start claiming your State Pension, it is a guaranteed amount that you know you can rely on.
In 2024/25, the full new State Pension pays £221.20 a week (around £11,500 a year). This could be useful in paying for essential expenses and bills, allowing you to use the rest of your savings to achieve your goals.
Secondly, the amount you receive also rises each year in line under the “triple lock”. This is a government commitment to annually increase the State Pension so that it maintains its spending power over time.
Each year, the State Pension will rise by the highest of:
- Inflation
- Average wage growth
- 2.5%.
This year, the highest of these was average wage growth, coming in at 4.1%. As a result, from 2025/26, the full new State Pension will pay £230.25 a week (around £11,973 a year).
Thanks to this legislation, the State Pension offers you a guaranteed income that’s designed to increase in value alongside the cost of living.
All this to say, checking your NI record and ensuring you’re going to receive as much as possible is a prudent step in securing as much of this guaranteed income as you can.
Speak to us
If you have any questions about the upcoming NI deadline, or would like any support checking your record, please do get in touch with us at Caliber Financial Management.
Email contact@caliberfm.co.uk or call 01525 375286 to speak to one of our team today.
Please note
This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.
All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.
Please do not act based on anything you might read in this article. All contents are based on our understanding of HMRC legislation, which is subject to change.