HMRC extends National Insurance top-up deadline to 2025

Taxpayers will now have an extra two years to make additional payments to their National Insurance (NI) contributions to increase state pension entitlements

The cut-off point for voluntary NI contributions from April 2006 to April 2017 has been extended to 5 April 2025 to help people to plug gaps in their NI record - an extension of nearly two years.

HMRC's original plan had set the deadline to 5 April 2023, but in March this was extended to 31 July, following capacity problems on government helplines.

Extending the deadline until 2025 means that taxpayers will have more time to properly consider whether paying voluntary contributions, which could boost their state pension entitlement to £55,000, is right for them.

Victoria Atkins, financial secretary to the Treasury, said: ‘People who have worked hard all their lives deserve to receive their State Pension entitlement, and filling gaps in National Insurance records can make a real difference.

‘With the deadline extended, there is no immediate rush for people to complete gaps in their record and they will have more time to spread the cost.’

All relevant National Insurance contributions payments will be accepted at the rates applicable from 2022 to 2023 until 5 April 2025.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) hopes the extension will grant staff more time to cope with the high level of interest - as thousands of people are expected to take advantage.

This follows a number of reported problems back in March, as people struggled getting through to either the DWP or HMRC.

Laura Trott, minister for pensions at the DWP, said: ‘I am pleased to see so many people taking steps to review their state pension, which is why we have extended the deadline for customers to add extra years to their National Insurance record.

‘This extension means thousands more people will have time to check their entitlement, and in many cases increase the amount they receive when they retire.’

Eligible taxpayers can find out how to check their National Insurance record via the HMRC app or their Personal Tax Account.

For information on employee pensions, visit BrAInbox today where you can find answers to questions like Does pension auto-enrolment apply to all businesses?

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