State pension top-up deadline extended to April 2025

HMRC confirmed on 12 June 2023 that the deadline to pay voluntary National Insurance contributions (NICs) to fill historic gaps in a record has been pushed back to April 2025¹. The concession had previously been due to end on 5 April, before HMRC announced on 7 March that the public would be given until 31 July to top up their National Insurance credits¹.

Under normal rules, it is only possible to fill gaps in a National Insurance record for the past six years, with each year's deadline falling on 5 April¹. The Department for Work and Pensions temporarily relaxed this rule in 2014, allowing some people to fill gaps for any year from 2006-07 onwards¹. The change was made so that those reaching state pension age in the early years of the new state pension, which came into force in April 2016, had an extended opportunity to assess whether they could improve how much they got under the new system¹.

The extended deadline followed a surge in calls to the DWP and HMRC and reports of long waiting times¹. HMRC said tens of thousands of people have taken advantage of the scheme, and that the extension means there is no immediate rush for people to complete gaps, and they will have longer to spread the cost¹. All voluntary NICs payments will be accepted at the existing 2022-23 rates¹.

The concession only applies to those who come under the new state pension system, meaning those who reached, or will reach, state pension age after 5 April 2016¹. At least 10 qualifying years of contributions are needed to receive any state pension, and 35 years to get the full amount¹. The current cost of Voluntary Class 3 NI contributions is £15.85 per week, or £824.20 per year¹. Voluntary contributions for gaps in 2021-22 cost £15.40 per week, and for gaps in 2020-21 the cost is £15.30 per week¹.

Sir Steve Webb, a former pensions minister now at Lane, Clark and Peacock, said buying back missing years can be "extremely valuable" in some cases, and that someone with 10 missing years could pay out a little over £8,000 to fix the gaps but see a boost of £55,000 in state pension over a typical 20-year retirement¹. Topping up can add up to £275 to a pre-tax state pension per year, which is 1/35 of the full rate of the state pension worth £9,627.80 a year, meaning that after three years of receiving higher payments someone could get back what they had paid for the Voluntary Class 3 NICs¹.

Why it matters for households

The deadline change affects people below state pension age who have gaps in their National Insurance record and who come under the new state pension system¹. Gaps can arise from low earnings while employed, unemployment without benefit claims, self-employment or working abroad¹. Paying voluntary National Insurance contributions is not always worthwhile: Which? reports that paying historic contributions will not boost state pension payments in some situations, including for those who are short of a full state pension because of extensive periods of contracting out¹. The government recommends contacting the Future Pension Centre for those below state pension age, or the Pension Service for those who have already reached it, to find out whether voluntary contributions would help¹. Some gaps may be filled free of charge with National Insurance credits, particularly where they were due to illness, looking after children or being unemployed¹. The full level of the new state pension in 2023-24 is £203.85 a week, or £10,600.20 a year¹.

What happens next

The deadline to pay voluntary NICs for historic gaps is April 2025, following the confirmation on 12 June 2023¹. Payments will be accepted at the existing 2022-23 rates¹. Which? notes that a man born after 5 April 1951 or a woman born after 5 April 1953 has until 5 April 2023 to pay voluntary contributions to make up for gaps between April 2006 and April 2016, a date that had already passed when the 12 June extension was reported¹. No further deadline changes have been reported.