To remind you to check your pension contributions before April 2025.

Just checked mine and I retire same year as you, but be aware that it states we may get pushed back a year yet.

I have longer than op and I'm tired now! 🙁

I phoned HMRC last week about gaps and contributions, spent roughly 40 minutes on hold before someone answered but he was extremely helpful and it was a worthwhile phone call.

He calculated that if I paid the shortfall before April then I would need to live to 71 to break even on my contributions. Any state pension I receive after 71 is worth more than what I've paid in.
If I leave it past April I could lose the opportunity to have a full pension because my missing years would go back too far once the April deadline has passed.

Again, he strongly advised phoning the Future Pensions section, before deciding which gaps I should pay.
Their phone number is 0800 73 10 175

I believe Martin Lewis will be covering the topic on TV soon, so be prepared for the HMRC phone lines to get busier after that airs.

Thank you. I did this and I have one non-full year, which is correct. It says it is too late to pay for it because it was more than 6 years ago. I also noticed my contributions during maternity leave were much lower, which makes sense, too, although I'd never stopped to think about it.

If you log into your pension forecast it should show you which gaps are payable, starting with the smallest amount.
But I would strongly advise phoning the Future Pensions helpline before making any kind of payment.

Some people could potentially make payments that will be of no benefit whatsoever. Because it's a "voluntary contribution" even if you realised the next day you've made an error and it wouldn't actually count towards your pension you would not be entitled to a refund, because you've literally voluntarily paid.

I only work part time. Can you just pay the years with the smallest gaps?

That could happen and no one can guarantee it won’t. The problem is, it’s going to be a gamble. Do you top up those years in case the rules change and they’re needed to guarantee you a full pension. In that case you’d win the gamble.
But maybe you top up those years and the pension is fully or partially removed by the time you get there. Maybe by then it’ll be means tested. Maybe it’ll be a brand new type of benefit not related to age or NI contributions. In this case you’d lose the gamble.

If topping up only cost about £100 a year I’d consider it. But I only have 3 years missing from uni. That’s a cost of nearly 3k. That’s a LOT to throw away when firstly, I may not need to cover those extra years as I’m currently on track to get to my required years, and secondly, if they get rid of the state pension I will have just given that money over to them for absolutely nothing in the future.

The option to pay back to 2006 expires. From May 2025 it reverts back to the standard which is you can back pay only the previous 6 years.

I’ve worked my whole adult life. I’m fully ‘paid up’ but I’ll be working til I drop at this rate. There’ll be nothing left for when I reach retirement age and really, it’s foolish to think otherwise. The system has been bled dry by people who don’t work and take everything but contribute nothing back. Plus the added bonus of our aging population - there just won’t be enough working to sustain the pensionable population. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news :(

@Isthisexpected if you were self employed Class 2 NI is cheaper and may make it a sensible choice.

No one can predict what will happen to state pensions. It used to be 39 out of 44 years for women or 44 out of 49 years for men.

It does. So let's say it says 11 years, and I have 18 to go then it doesn't make sense to top up, right? But what I'm suggesting is, is it worth topping up in case the goalposts are changed and suddenly it's 20 years I need to get the full amount?

@AlisonWhatIsTheMatter Why should we check before April 2025?? What happens then? Thanks

I can see all the years that I worked, including part time from when I was 16, so it’s not that for me. Thank you though.

The first thing you need to do is check your forecast. The 35 years only applies if you never paid any NI contributions before 2016. If you did pay any before then your individual number of years needed will be different from 35. It will tell you on your forecast how much you have as things stand and how many more years you need.

Thank you for this. I did read something about the 35 years being if your contributions started from 2016, but it didn’t explain what happened if you had started paying pre 2016. It makes sense now that they couldn’t say more as it depends on individual circumstances. Thanks again.

So I'm trying to decide if there's any benefit to me in topping up the few years I worked for myself and made no money. Theoretically I will have 35 years' worth contributions way before pension age....but what if pension age changes and we're told we need 40 or 45 years' of contributions?

The 35 years doesn't apply to you as you have contributions dating pre 2016. If it says 5 years is what you need then that will be correct. Anyone who had paid NI before 2016 had a recalculation done at that point. Some need less and some more depending on individual circumstances.

There is a significant group who contribute nothing and take every penny they live on.

@PensionQ I had that. When I enquired, I found I had two fully paid up years from when I was in the sixth form with holiday & weekend jobs.

Mine are all paid and I'm stopping May next year. I can't wait 😎

Hoping someone can answer this for me.

I am 45 and it says I need to contribute another 5 years to be fully paid up and get full state pension I’m 2047

So should that mean I have 30 years so far as you need 35 years altogether? Because when I count the years I have, I only have 28. Another 5 years would only get me to 33? Do I need 33 or 35 years?

I don’t work so will need to pay the gap, but I’m wondering if that will be 5 years like the site says, but that will only get me to 33 years, or whether I need to pay 7 years to get me to 35 years.

Mine says £221.20 and I can't improve it further. Although who knows whether the goalposts will be moved and in a few years time it'll say I'm not entitled to anything and I need to attend the workhouse or something!

Over half of all uk residents are net beneficiaries of the welfare state. That includes pretty much everyone who is not a higher rate taxpayer. We are just not paying enough in

Agree with rainbowunicorn you should check your statement but a few things that might help with getting head round it.

If the gaps you mention are pre 2006 then you won't be able to pay extra to fill them after April 2025. From then on you will only be able to pay for gaps within the last six years.

However, you may not need to pay the gaps. Your statement will tell you how many more years of contributions you need to reach the maximum state pension amount. It will also tell you the date at which you can claim state pension. (Under the current rules which may of course change).

If you have many more working years ahead of you and not many contributions needed for the full pension then it's probably not worth you plugging any gaps. If you had just a few years until you can claim state pension, and hadn't yet reached the full amount according to your statement, then it might be worth paying to plug those gaps.

So based just on your age and that you have only a few gaps, it seems likely that you don't need to pay to fill them. But take a look at the statement :)