The Government has extended the voluntary National Insurance deadline by an extra four months.
Taxpayers now have until 31 July 2023 to make additional payments to their National Insurance contributions (NICs) and help increase their state pension entitlement.
The deadline for making additional NIC payments is usually six years. However, this extension allows taxpayers more time to fill gaps in their NI record between April 2006 and April 2016.
This decision came after public concern over the original deadline in April.
HMRC will also accept all voluntary NIC payments made at the current 2022/23 rates until the end of July. This means taxpayers will need to pay the higher 2023/24 rates from August onwards.
Taxpayers need at least ten years of NICs to qualify for the state pension. As such, HMRC is urging those eligible not to miss out on the opportunity to boost how much they receive when they retire.
Victoria Atkins, financial secretary to the Treasury, said:
"We recognise how important state pensions are for retired individuals, which is why we are giving people more time to fill any gaps in their National Insurance record to help bolster their entitlement."
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