Martin Lewis has urged people aged between 40 and 73 to check their National Insurance record before April 5, warning that the opportunity to fill gaps in contributions will be lost after that date. The deadline applies to men born after 5 April 1951 and women born after 5 April 1953, and could be worth tens of thousands of pounds in additional state pension.
In the UK, individuals need at least 10 qualifying years on their National Insurance record to receive any new State Pension, according to multiple reports. The full new State Pension is reported as either £230.25 per week in 2025/26 by Glasgow Live, or £241.30 per week by the Daily Express, though the discrepancy may confuse readers about the exact amount. Each missing qualifying year could reduce a person's state pension by around £300 to £330 a year, according to Rebecca Lamb of Money Wellness. Conversely, buying one full NI year typically adds £6.89 a week to state pension entitlement, as reported by multiple sources.
That's a really interesting question.
A qualifying year on an NI record can be achieved by working and making National Insurance contributions, or through credits for unemployment, illness, being a parent or carer, living or working overseas, or paying reduced rate NI as a married woman, according to multiple reports. Individuals can pay voluntary National Insurance contributions to fill gaps in their NI record, as reported by multiple sources. However, Martin Lewis advised that if a person is predicted to have the full state pension at retirement, topping up gaps may be unnecessary because one cannot receive more than the full state pension. The system is complex, as Rebecca Lamb explained: "The system isn't just one rule - it's a patchwork of thresholds, qualifying years, credits and exceptions. You need 35 qualifying years for the full state pension, but not every year automatically counts as a qualifying year, and gaps can come from things like low earnings, time off work or self-employment." She added that people often do not realise they have gaps until much later, and changing rules over time make it easy to feel unsure.
Martin Lewis urged people aged between 40 and 73 to check their NI record before April 5, warning that the door to fill gaps "shuts forever" after that date, according to Martin Lewis. The opportunity applies to men born after 5 April 1951 (currently up to 74 years old) and women born after 5 April 1953 (currently up to 72 years old), as reported by multiple sources. Individuals can only buy NI contributions up to six tax years ago, according to multiple reports. The exact deadline of April 5 applies to filling gaps for specific past years, though it is unclear whether it covers all years or only certain ones. The precise cost of buying a voluntary NI year is not specified, and there may be income or age restrictions that affect eligibility.
The first thing I'd do is I'd go and look at your pension projection. On your pension projection, your state pension projection, which is on gov.uk, are you predicted to be able to... get that you will have the full state pension when you retire, which is a very long time away? If you are, I think this is probably overkill, because it's not like once you get to the full state pension, you earn more NI years, you get even bigger than the full state pension. It doesn't work like that.
Martin Lewis disclosed that roughly 200,000 people had the "wrong" individual claiming child benefit, potentially missing out on NI credits and a diminished state pension, according to Martin Lewis. This issue can arise when child benefit is claimed by a non-working partner, as the NI credits associated with the benefit may not go to the working partner who needs them. According to Glasgow Live, Jeanette Kwakye described a case where a pensioner named Gabriel increased his pension by £32,000 after following Martin Lewis's advice to transfer child benefit NI credits from his wife. Gabriel told Glasgow Live: "If I live 10 years after pension age, I'll get an extra £32,000. So thank you so much." According to Glasgow Live, Martin Lewis described that typical life expectancy once taking a pension is double that, so it could be £60,000. The process for transferring child benefit NI credits between spouses is not widely known, and many people may be unaware of the potential impact on their state pension. Rebecca Lamb noted: "When something feels confusing or time-consuming, some people put it off. The danger is that they could miss the window to fill gaps or don't realise it's worth doing."
Pls share. If someone hasn't checked this yet and is between the age of 40 and 73. Without exaggeration, it could be worth £10,000s, so check. If you miss it now the door shuts forever on 5 April.
Gabriel's been in touch. After watching your show about pensions, I realised I have about 14 years of shortfall. I asked for my wife's child benefit, national insurance credits to be transferred to my name, and I received 11 years of credit increasing my pension by over 60 pounds a week.
If I live 10 years after pension age, I'll get an extra £32,000. So thank you so much.
Of course, typical life expectancy once you take your pension is double that, so it could be 60 grand.
The system isn't just one rule - it’s a patchwork of thresholds, qualifying years, credits and exceptions. You need 35 qualifying years for the full state pension, but not every year automatically counts as a qualifying year, and gaps can come from things like low earnings, time off work or self-employment. What makes it tricky is that people often don’t realise they have gaps until much later. Add in changing rules over time and it’s easy to feel unsure about where you stand or what action to take.
When something feels confusing or time-consuming, some people put it off. The danger is that they could miss the window to fill gaps or don't realise it's worth doing.