State pension alert as National Insurance contributions may not count

Britons need 35 qualifying years on their National Insurance record (Image: GETTY) Britons are urged to check their National Insurance records as some people may find they are not eligible for the full state pension if there is a shortfall. As the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite, those nearing retirement are urged to check if they will benefit from as much retirement income as possible. Ways to boost one’s retirement income could be taking on part-time work, investing in property and other investments, and topping up National Insurance contributions. In order to secure the full new state pension, Britons need 35 qualifying years on their National Insurance record. A minimum of 10 qualifying years is typically needed to get any state pension at all. A minimum of 10 qualifying years is typically needed to get any state pension (Image: GETTY) Some people could therefore be shocked to find although they paid National Insurance in a given year, they did not earn a qualifying year. Financial expert Laura Pomfret warned Britons that National Insurance is an ‘all or nothing situation’. Britons may find that they are missing out on thousands of pounds each year, due to tens or hundreds of pounds. She said: ‘She said: ‘You could go and look and you might find a year would be £20 because you’ve paid it nearly all that year but you just didn’t quite tip over. ‘It’s an all-or-nothing situation with National Insurance, so imagine if you could pay £20 and get access to that extra £275.’ State pension age is currently 66 in the UK (Image: EXPRESS) There are set criteria to take into account when it comes to what is considered a qualifying year. Those in work earn a qualifying year by earning a minimum amount of money during a tax year. And they pay the required NI contributions. For 2023/24 these minimums are: – For employees: £123 a week, £533 a month, £6,396 a year – For the self-employed: £129 a week, £560 a month, £6,725 a year If someone doesn’t earn enough to pay National Insurance for example if they’re claiming benefits because they’re ill or unemployed, they may be able to get NI credits to fill gaps in their record. For instance, they can build up NI credits for time spent raising a family, if they care for someone who is sick or disabled, or if they’ve been enrolled in full-time training. Britons can check how many qualifying years they have by visiting the  GOV.UK website . Andrew Tully, technical Director at Canada Life, said: ‘Paying voluntary National Insurance (NI) contributions to boost your state pension can be a great deal, and you should get your money back after around three years. ‘But care needs to be taken as many people will have sufficient NI to qualify for a full state pension, so have no need to pay more. ‘Even if you have gaps in your record you may be able to fill these for free by making sure you have received credits, for example, if you were unemployed, or caring for relatives.’ The full new state pension is now £203.85 a week and under the old scheme, the maximum ‘basic’ state pension is £156.20 a week. Britons can check how much state pension they will get in retirement by checking their state pension forecast.   People may want to pay voluntary contributions because: They’re close to state Pension age and do not have enough qualifying years to get the full state pension They know they will not be able to get the qualifying years they need to get the full state pension during their working life They’re self-employed, file Self Assessment tax returns and do not have to pay Class 2 contributions because they have low profits They live outside the UK, but they want to qualify for some benefits This forecast will show people how many qualifying NI years they’ve already built up, and how many more they need (if any) to get the maximum amount of state pension. Buying one full voluntary NI contribution year costs £824 and adds £275 a year to their state pension – over 10 years, this would work out an extra £2,750. People need to live for around three years to get their money back.  For more information, people can visit the Government website.