It’s unlikely that the State Pension will form the majority of your income when you retire. After decades of hard work and diligent saving, you’ll probably have private pensions, workplace schemes, and maybe even some non-pension investments to help you live the lifestyle you choose.
But ensuring you receive your full State Pension entitlement still matters.
From April 2025, the full new State Pension sits at more than £12,000 a year. That’s £230 a week of regular income, protected against inflation, paid for the rest of your life.
If you have gaps in your National Insurance (NI) record, though, you might have insufficient “qualifying years” to receive this full amount. The government normally allows you to top up your NI record for the past six years. Until 5 April 2025, however, you can also top up contributions for years as far back as 2006.
Keep reading for everything you need to know about your State Pension entitlement and the April 2025 deadline.
The amount of State Pension you receive depends on your National Insurance record
Currently, the State Pension Age for men and women stands at 66, although this is set to rise in the future. It will reach 67 by 2028, before rising again to 68.
The amount of State Pension you receive is based on the National Insurance contributions (NICs) you make. To receive the full entitlement, you’ll need 35 “qualifying years” of NICs, while you won’t receive the State Pension at all if you have less than 10.
Qualifying years generally include those years in which you were:
- Working and making NICs
- Getting National Insurance credits
- Paying voluntary NICs.
Throughout your career, there might have been times when you weren’t working, or when you didn’t earn enough to pay NICs. This might have left you with gaps in your record.
Use the government’s State Pension forecast to find out how much State Pension you might receive and then think about filling any gaps if you have them.
You might be able to fill gaps in your record back to 2006 but time is running out
You can fill gaps in your NI record either by buying or claiming additional credits (if you are eligible). A backdated claim might be possible if a gap resulted from maternity leave, for example, as well as from caring for an elderly relative or looking after grandchildren under the age of 12.
Normally, the government allows you to pay backdated NICs from up to six years ago. However, when the new State Pension was introduced back in 2014, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) relaxed this rule and allowed people to fill gaps from as far back as 2006/07.
The DWP deadline has twice been extended and is now 5 April 2025, for men born after 5 April 1951 and women born after 5 April 1953.
The full State Pension could provide the backbone of your whole retirement plan
The current full State Pension for the 2024/25 tax year is £221 a week, or £11,502 a year. This is set to rise from April 2025 due to the State Pension triple lock.
This mechanism ensures that the State Pension keeps pace with rising living costs, by increasing the State Pension each year in line with the higher of:
- 5%
- Average earnings growth
- The Consumer Prices Index (CPI).
In April 2025, the new State Pension will increase by 4.1% (average earnings growth). The new amounts payable will be £230 a week, or just over £12,016 a year.
Receiving a known and regular pension income can make a huge difference in retirement, and that’s why ensuring you receive your full entitlement is key. Putting your State Pension toward fixed expenses like household bills could free you up to be more flexible with the other pension income you take. That might mean paying for one-off, big-ticket items, say, or occasional luxuries like holidays.
Factoring an additional £12,000 a year into your retirement planning could help you to live the retirement lifestyle you dream about. So, speak to us now if you think you might have NI gaps, or if you have any questions about your State Pension entitlement.
Get in touch
If you’d like to discuss any aspect of your retirement plans, including how to make the most of the extended State Pension deadline, get in touch. Contact us now to find out how our Chartered financial planners could help you.
Please note
This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.
The value of your investments (and any income from them) can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Investments should be considered over the longer term and should fit in with your overall attitude to risk and financial circumstances.
