A woman has managed to boost her state pension by an impressive £60,000 after following a Martin Lewis money tip.
She was “reminded” by the Money Saving Expert founder to check her National Insurance (NI) record to see her state pension forecast. After discovering over 10 years of gaps, she paid voluntary NI contributions, resulting in a significantly larger state pension.
In this week’s Money Saving Expert (MSE) newsletter, her husband wrote to the team to share his wife’s success.
David said: “Dear Martin & team, a big thanks for reminding me to top up NI. My wife had 10+ years missing.
“Her pension forecast was £69/wk, but a (large £8,200) contribution to fill the gaps increased it to £132/wk [a £3,280/yr boost, over £60,000 if she gets it for 20yrs] – no brainer!” (sic)
Describing the move as “the single most lucrative thing you can do with your money”, the MSE team explained people must have a full National Insurance record to get the full state pension.
It added: “Temporary rules mean you can buy missing years from as far back as 2006, so anyone aged 40 to 72ish should check now.”
People accumulate NI years through active employment or by receiving NI credits, which are granted during periods of unemployment, illness, or while fulfilling parental or caregiving responsibilities.
Those who have gaps, which may have occurred when credits weren’t claimed, can increase their state pension by purchasing additional NI years to fill these gaps.
To qualify for the full state pension, individuals generally need around 35 years of National Insurance contributions, though this can vary.
People can see if they’d benefit by checking their National Insurance record and state pension forecast on the GOV.UK website.
It should be noted that, while purchasing missing National Insurance years to plug gaps may be beneficial for some people, it may not be for others.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) launched an online state pension forecast service this year to help people calculate if they’ll benefit from making voluntary contributions.
Martin Lewis is the Founder and Chair of MoneySavingExpert.com. To join the 13 million people who get his free Money Tips weekly email, go to www.moneysavingexpert.com/latesttip.
