Britons are being warned about a "£6,000 ticking time bomb'" as failing to check their National Insurance record could cause a delay in their retirement.
National Insurance contributions and/or credits can boost state pension entitlement by thousands of pounds however millions are missing out.
Currently, around 27 million workers pay National Insurance contributions in the UK, amounting to over £177.7billion a year.
Although millions of workers are paying National Insurance, not everyone will get the qualifying years they need for the full state pension.
Kevin Mountford, savings expert and co-founder of the online savings platform Raisin UK, is urging people to check their National Insurance record to ensure the "completeness of contributions".
He warns this step of retirement planning is crucial, yet often overlooked.
To qualify for any state pension, Britons need at least 10 qualifying years of contributions
GETTYBritons will not be able to get the full state pension unless they have the right amount of qualifying years.
To qualify for any state pension, Britons need at least 10 qualifying years of contributions, while a full new state pension usually requires at least 35 qualifying years. For the full basic state pension, a person typically needs 30 qualifying years.
Mountford is urging Britons to see if they have any gaps that need filling to avoid disappointment in later life.
He said: "At the moment, you can pay to plug National Insurance gaps dating all the way back to 2006, but from April 2025, you’ll only be able to pay for voluntary contributions for the past six tax years.
“Whilst boosting your National Insurance contributions doesn’t sound like a particularly exciting thing to do with any leftover money, it could earn you thousands of pounds!
"Putting in a full-year class 3 contribution at £824 could make you £328 per year towards your pre-tax pension - that could add up to over £6,000 before you retire.
“To see if you’d benefit from purchasing missing National Insurance years, you should first check both your National Insurance record and your State Pension forecast on the Gov.uk website.
"It’s vital you periodically review your National Insurance record going forward for any gaps, helping you secure a better pension when the time arrives.”
Women will be impacted most if they find they have years missing on their National Insurance record.
If a woman doesn't have children, she is more likely to have an extra £11,315 in her pension pot at the end of her career compared to a woman with children, as women lose out on £783 every year after having a child.
Over 43 million women will be behind on their National Insurance contributions by around £2,572, which adds an extra year to their working lives, the data found.
Britons are encouraged to check their state pension forecast so they have all the details to financially prepare for retirement. A state pension forecast includes information such as what year they will receive their pension, the amount they will get weekly, monthly and per year (without factoring in inflation) according to their current and projected contribution level, and a forecast of what they will receive if they continue to pay in.
The record also lists the number of years with full NI contributions and the years where someone may not have contributed enough. These are marked as 'year is not full' with guidance on how to fill them, which includes how much to pay in voluntary contributions.
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Britons pay mandatory National Insurance if they’re 16 or over and are either an employee earning more than £242 per week from one job or a self-employed and making a profit of more than £12,570 a year.
A qualifying year is one in which someone was:
- working and made National Insurance contributions
- getting National Insurance credits for example if they were unemployed, ill or a parent or carer
- paying voluntary National Insurance contributions
People might also qualify if they’ve lived or worked abroad or paid reduced rate National Insurance for married women.
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