MARTIN Lewis’ MoneySavingExpert has revealed what workers need to do NOW to make sure there’s enough money in their future pension pot.
It’s easy enough to check, but you could risk losing out on thousands from your state pension if you fail to take action sooner rather than later.
That’s because the six-year limit imposed on topping-up missing “qualifying years” of National Insurance contributions will return in just under a year’s time.
The restriction comes into force again in April 2023.
At the moment you can top up your record for any missing years dating back to 2006.
But the savings experts have warned that there’s not long left to go back so far as 16 years in the past.
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If you miss out on the crucial step you could lose a decade’s worth of payments.
What you need to know is that the amount of cash you get in retirement is based on the number of years of National Insurance Contributions you make.
But you might have gaps in contributions, for example when you’re not working, and looking after children.
You can pay to fill these gaps to make up for what you might have lost though.
And you can check if there are in fact gaps to begin with on the government’s website with its free checker tool.
Martin’s money team explained that it’s important as you need 35 qualifying years of National Insurance to get the full new state pension.
That’s what gets you £185.15 a week, from the government, once you retire.
If you have anything under that amount of years racked up you’ll be entitled to less.
But have anything less than 10 years, and you won’t get any state pension at all.
Though before making voluntary contributions, which will cost you, you need to get a pension forecast and speak to the Government’s Future Pension Centre on 0800 731 0175.
The body will be able to tell you whether it’s worth you paying for extra qualifying years, as it may not be beneficial for everyone.
Earning back the years isn’t free so your voluntary contributions do come at a price.
It works out to be worth £15.85 a week which means it costs £824.20 to buy one year of contributions.
If you do though, it adds £275 to your state pension every year.
Martin Lewis’ MoneySavingExpert claims you’d have made your money back in just three years in that case.
But of course, there are risks – if you happened to die before the three years are up then you will have wasted the money, the savings experts explained.
You might also find that increasing your state pension means you get reduced pension credit later on, or end up paying higher tax in the long run, putting you more out of pocket.
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But if it’s not pensions on your mind then Martin Lewis has issued a holiday warning over passports and health cards too – meaning you need to check your documents NOW.
And the money mogul has also urged all workers to check their tax code after first pay packet of new tax year landed.
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