Last chance to buy back national insurance years!

Jessica Amodio
Partner

You only have until 31 July 2023 to buy back any mission national insurance years from 2006 to 2016. For some people this can be very lucrative. Here's our handy guide for knowing whether this applies to you.

Are you aged between 45 and 70?

If you are under 45 then you can go through the exercise, but it won't make a massive difference to your eventual state pension.

If you are a man born before 5 April 1951 or a woman born before 5 April 1953, then you are on the old state pension and this doesn't apply.

Why is this so urgent?

Normally, you can buy back up to six years of missing national insurance contributions. However, when the new state pension was introduced, provisions were put in place to let you plug gaps back to 2006.

This was due to end on 5 April 2023, but due to the demand on government phone lines, it has been been extended to 31 July 2023.

Surely the missing national insurance years won't make much difference?

Somebody missing 8 years could buy back their national insurance contributions and increase their state pension by £49 per week. This equates over £2,500 extra per year. If you live for the typical 20 years after state pension age, that's an uplift of around £51,000.

What is the process?

1. Check your national insurance record.

You can do this by logging into the government website. It will show you your full record and if you have any 'non-full' years since 2006 then it could be worth buying these back to recieve the higher state pension.

2. Get your state pension forecast.

If you have missing years then you'll want to get your state pension forecast from the government website. If your forecast isn't for the full £203.85 a week, and you have gaps, you may be able to boost your amount.

3. See if you qualify for National Insurance credits.

If you have gaps in your record, this may be due to situations beyond your control. You can claim free credits for scenarios where you were; caring for a child, unemployed and looking for work, recieving statutory sick pay, caring for a sick/disabled person, and many more.

4. Call the Future Pension Centre.

If you have followed the above steps, and it looks like you would benefit from buying back lost years, then contact the Future Pension Centre on 0800 731 0175. They will be able to offer you personalised information and tell you whether filling your National Insurance gaps will actually result in an increase in state pension.

From here, the Future Pension Centre will guide you through the next steps for payment.