Deadline to catch up on NI contributions extended
An opportunity to fill gaps in your NI contribution history back to 2006 was due to end on 31 July 2023. The government has just announced that this will be extended. What's the new deadline?
Gaps in your NI contribution history can have a very detrimental effect on your state retirement pension rights. Some people may believe they have accumulated enough qualifying years for full entitlement, when in reality there are gaps. These could be due to breaks between employment, insufficient NI being paid due to part time work, and so on. Worse, if you don’t accumulate at least ten qualifying years, you aren’t entitled to anything.
To rectify this, you can fill gaps by making voluntary Class 3 payments. Usually, you can only do this for the past six years. However, it's currently possible to make contributions for years right back to April 2006. This opportunity was due to end on 5 April 2023, but the government extended this to 31 July 2023 in back in March. It has now extended the window to 5 April 2025. If you want to make contributions, they are payable at the Class 3 rate for 2022/23, which was £15.85 per week.
Related Topics
-
Government rushes through NI cap on pension salary sacrifice
The government has already drafted legislation to impose a £2,000 limit on NI exempt pension contributions under salary sacrifice arrangements. What else do we know?
-
Sneaky change is a blow for side hustles
With most of the media focused on the headline-grabbing announcements from the Budget, a read of the published small print reveals another change coming in 2029. It’s bad news if you are an employee with a side hustle, but what’s going on?
-
Dodging the 2027 IHT and pension changes
In a little over a year the inheritance tax (IHT) exemption for unused pension savings comes to an end. If you’re married or in a civil partnership, one simple step might save your estate thousands in IHT. What is it?