Crucial deadline to boost your state pension extended to 31 July – here's what you need to know

Helplines run by the Department for Work and Pensions and HMRC have been overwhelmed, with many people voicing concerns that they could not get through after calling dozens of times. Thousands of readers reported they had repeatedly called, some every day for weeks, a MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE) survey found. Part of the process of making a top up includes being able to get through to these helplines in order to get information. 

But the extension announcement now means thousands of people with gaps in their national insurance record between 2006 and 2016, who are not on track to get the full state pension, should now have time to get the information they need from Government helplines before making any voluntary national insurance contributions to HMRC. See Martin's viral state pension boosting video for a full explanation of how it works. 

After 31 July, it will only be possible to top up gaps from the previous six tax years. That's because "transitional arrangements" put in place when the new state pension system was introduced in 2016 will have ended. These arrangements were set up to give people under the age of 70(ish) more time to accumulate enough 'qualifying' national insurance years to receive the full new state pension.

You can earn qualifying years in a range of ways, including through employment or by claiming certain benefits. But thousands of people still don't have enough, which is why many are considering paying to plug gaps. Doing this can can be incredibly lucrative. Many, for example, can spend £800 or less and get £5,500 back. See our Boosting your state pension guide for more details.

Why the 5 April deadline has been extended 

The Government says the extension is a result of "members of the public voicing concern over the previous deadline of 5 April". Many readers have contacted MSE over the past few weeks detailing their inability to get through on various Government helplines. We also conducted our own survey to see whether these readers' experiences were part of a wider problem and the results showed a system that was completely overwhelmed and unable to fulfil its basic service. Our survey, which received 4,300-plus responses from people who'd called the helplines this year, found that: 

• 62% of those who contacted the Future Pension Centre were cut off.

• 54% had to call the Future Pension Centre more than five times.

• 31% said that the line cut off when they called HMRC. 

What the 31 July extension means for pension savers

Anyone with gaps in their national insurance record between 2006 and 2016 has until 31 July to plug them. The previous deadline was 5 April coinciding with the end of the tax year.  This is due to 'transitional arrangements' following the introduction of the new state pension. 

However, the process of filling gaps involves calling The Future Pension Centre if you're below state pension age or the Pension Service if you're already at state pension age, and then HMRC to get a unique 18-digit reference number.

Without accessing support from these official channels it is not possible to confirm which "incomplete" years are worth filling or to make your payment with your reference number. 

The extension means thousands of people who were unable to access these official helplines are now able to wait until they successfully get through to confirm whether a payment will indeed boost their state pension and by how much.  

Top-up prices will also be frozen until 31 July

The delay to the planned 6 April price hike means that the cost of plugging a full year of national insurance contributions will remain at current prices until 31 July.  Prices for most qualifying years had been due to jump by 10.1% - in line with the Consumer Prices Index measure of inflation - from 6 April, but this will now take force from 1 August instead. From then, the weekly price for all years, excluding 2021/22 and 2022/23, which will remain the same, will go up from £15.85 to £17.45, meaning the cost of filling a full year in your national insurance record will jump to £907.40.

In other words, the price hike delay could save you £100s. See our table for the cost of plugging gaps before the new deadline extension and after. 

The cost of buying voluntary NI contributions before and after 31 July