Money expert Martin Lewis says state pensioners could get thousands if they make one phone call to HMRC before April. Right now, the deadline to buy back up to 13 missing years from your National Insurance records is rapidly approaching and will close on April 5, 2025.
After that date as many as 13 years – which were available to buy back to add to your National Insurance records – will be removed from the HMRC’s scheme. When you reach state pension age, you will need about 35 full years of National Insurance records in order to qualify for a full state pension payout, currently £220.20 a week and rising to £230 next month.
Paying about £800 for a year’s records adds about £300 a year to your pension payouts, which could be worth as much as £6,000 per year bought if you collected that pension for 20 years. In this way, adding all 13 missing years could be worth £79,000 over 20 years.
Returning on The Martin Lewis Money Show Live on March 4, money expert Martin Lewis advised pensioners that you cannot do this online if you’ve already reached pension age, and instead you will need to call HMRC on the phone instead.
Martin said: “If you’ve gone through everything and buying National Insurance years looks right for you, you can do it on Gov.uk state pension forecast tool which shows you state pension forecast, National Insurance record, payable gaps and lets you pay.
“You can’t do it online though if you’re at state pension age or 4 months before it or you missed years from self-employment or you worked abroad, or if they tell you it’s too complex.
“In that case you need to do it on the phone. The same is true if you’re worried and you want one on one advice.”
The money expert went on to say that depending on your age there are different places to get that all-important bespoke advice.
He said: “You can get one on one advice. Who to call depends on your age, if you’re getting state pension or four months from getting state pension it’s the pension service, before that anyone younger it’s the Future Pension Centre. Just remember you can’t buy back years from before 2006.”
Martin went on to say that there are a number of things that you won’t be able to get advice on over the phone – including if you’re due any free years or the overall tax impact.
He said: “Now, if you’re doing it by the phone, to pay you’ll need to get an 18 digit HMRC reference number, best way to do that is go onto HMRC web chat, that is quicker than calling them up although you can call them up if you need to.
“What they won’t advise you on on this advice line: they won’t advise you on if you’re due any free years normally, they won’t advise you on the tax impact that we’ve already talked about, and they won’t advise you if it may reduce your pension credit entitlement.”
The Martin Lewis Money Show Live is still available to watch via ITVX online.
