Extended deadline to catch up missed NI contributions for State Retirement Pension

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 at 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 to pay voluntary contributions, which could boost their state pension entitlement.

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.

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