Extension to deadline for state pension top ups ‘hugely welcome’ – Steve Webb, LCP
Pensions & benefits Personal finance Policy & regulation
The government has today announced a further extension to the deadline for paying voluntary NI contributions to top up state pension entitlement. The government’s original plan was a 5th April 2023 deadline for people to pay back historic years of NI contributions (anything more than the standard six-year deadline, all the way back to 2006/07), and this had already been extended to 31st July 2023 following capacity problems on government helplines.
However, many people had reported continuing problems in getting through either to DWP’s Future Pension Centre or to HMRC’s payment line, with less than seven weeks to the revised deadline.
The government has today announced a further major extension to 5th April 2025 – two years beyond the deadline originally planned. The intention is that this will spread the load of calls and give time for more staff to be trained to cope with the high level of interest.
Commenting, LCP Partner Steve Webb, who has campaigned on this issue and lobbied for a further extension, said:
“I am delighted that the Government has announced a major extension to the deadline for paying voluntary NI to top up state pensions. This is a complex area with great potential for people to improve their position but also the risk that they may get things wrong. It is essential that people can talk through their options with the DWP before making any payments, and this has simply been impossible for too many people because of a lack of phone capacity. This significant extension should give time to train up enough people to handle the volume of calls that are now being made and enable everyone to take advantage of this opportunity if it is right for them”.
As things stand, although individuals can go on the gov.uk website for a run-down on their NI record, including costs of filling different gap years, that website does not specify *which* years a person should fill. It even includes prices for years which the individual *should not* fill because it would not boost their state pension. This is why it is vital for people to discuss their individual records with the Future Pension Centre.