Those who listen to financial and investment news or follow Martin Lewis the MoneySavingExpert will be aware that there is currently an extension to the opportunity to boost your state pension by buying additional National Insurance (NI) years.

A limited time opportunity to buy missing years from 2006 to 2016 has been extended from the original 5 April 2023 deadline to 31 July 2023, because Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) phone lines had been unable to cope with demand.

In order to receive a full UK state pension, most people currently need to have 35 qualifying years of NI contributions. If you have fewer than 10 qualifying years, you will probably not be entitled to any UK state pension at all and there could be other state benefits that you are not qualified for.

Why would you be short of qualifying years?

• If you have worked overseas or offshore for much of your working life and have not been on a UK payroll or elected to pay voluntary UK NI.
• If you have been studying for many years and any earnings have been below the NI threshold.
• If you have been self-employed, you may have paid insufficient NI.
• If you have been a stay-at-home carer – although a parent claiming child benefit will be credited with free qualifying years up the child reaching age 12.

Can I check my state pension forecast?

If you are considering retirement but not yet at pension age, you can apply online for a state pension forecast using your Government Gateway login.

https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

Can I check my NI record?

You can do an online contribution record check which again requires your Government Gateway login.

https://www.gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record

This service will also activate your Personal Tax Account if you have not already done so.  The Personal Tax Account is a useful way of keeping on top of your self-assessment status.

What does this mean for me?

When considering salary levels, Cogent Accountants are very conscious of the salary required to achieve a qualifying national insurance year so hopefully most clients will have achieved qualifying years while working through their companies with us.

Whether to top up for missing years is basically an investment decision and not something that we can advise you on. There is an assortment of guidance available online, the information on the MoneySavingExpert website seems to be especially comprehensive or you may wish to speak to an IFA if you have one or would like us to refer you to one.