The government has extended the deadline for paying voluntary National Insurance contributions by nearly two years, with taxpayers to be given until 5 April 2025 to boost their state pension entitlement.

According to the government announcement, the extension aims to ensure that people have more time to properly consider whether paying voluntary contributions is right for them and ensure that no-one misses out on the possibility of boosting their state pension entitlements.

The original deadline was extended to 31 July 2023 earlier this year, with the Department for Work and Pensions revealing that “tens of thousands” of people have taken advantage to pay voluntary contributions to HMRC since then.

The revised deadline is therefore expected to enable “tens of thousands” more to do the same.

Commenting on the extension, Pensions Minister, Laura Trott, stated: “I am pleased to see so many people taking steps to review their state pension, which is why we have extended the deadline for customers to add extra years to their National Insurance record.

“This extension means thousands more people will have time to check their entitlement, and in many cases increase the amount they receive when they retire.”

Adding to this, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Victoria Atkins, stated: “People who have worked hard all their lives deserve to receive their state pension entitlement, and filling gaps in National Insurance records can make a real difference.

“With the deadline extended, there is no immediate rush for people to complete gaps in their record and they will have more time to spread the cost.”

Industry experts have also welcomed the extension, with LCP partner, Steve Webb, arguing that this should give time to train up enough people to handle the volume of calls that are now being made and enable everyone to take advantage of this opportunity if it is right for them.

“This is a complex area with great potential for people to improve their position but also the risk that they may get things wrong,” he stated.

“It is essential that people can talk through their options with the DWP before making any payments, and this has simply been impossible for too many people because of lack of phone capacity.”

Royal London consumer finance specialist, Sarah Pennells, also highlighted the extension as “good news”, which will help those people who want to go back as far as 2006 to fill in any National Insurance gaps.

“We know that ahead of the original deadline of April 5 this year, the Department for Work and Pensions Future Pension Centre received over half a million calls a month, ten times the normal amount it would get, showing the need and appetite of people to act and address a gap or find out more to ensure they don’t miss out,” she stated.

Indeed, Quilter head of retirement policy, Jon Greer, suggested that the extension will come as a relief to the “many who have been desperately trying to make NI top ups but have been stumped by reports of long caller wait times”.

He continued: “This move provides a significantly longer period for people to evaluate their current state pension plans and determine whether filling gaps in their National Insurance records could improve their retirement income.

“This will hopefully help avoid any further log jams for the government and more people can take advantage of what can be a very valuable bit of retirement planning. Ultimately, this represents a golden opportunity and people should not squander it.

“The extended deadline will particularly impact those aged between 45 and 70 with gaps in their NI records and these individuals should take action to check whether they can maximise their retirement benefits if they can afford to.”

However, although AJ Bell head of retirement policy, Tom Selby, agreed that the extension will offer people “valuable breathing room”, he pointed out that this is the second time that the deadline has been pushed back, arguing that “government should have known that a large volume of calls would be coming in and prepared accordingly”.

He stated: “While the original postponement until July this year offered a short extension, the deadline has now been put back until April 2025, a full two years after the original cut-off.

“Crucially, it also shifts the problem beyond the general election – potentially creating a ticking time bomb for the next government to deal with.

“The original extension was only ever going to be effective if DWP then staffed its helplines sufficiently to clear the existing backlog and deal with the extra claims that were inevitably going to result.

“Unfortunately, the phone lines are once again jammed, which suggests this hasn’t happened and people are unable to get through to enquire about topping up their NI record.

“Government should have known that a large volume of calls would be coming in and prepared accordingly.”

“For those trying to get through to top-up their state pension today’s announcement at least gives them extra time, although that still doesn’t tell them when they’ll actually be able to get through on the helpline.”

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