You've less than six months left to boost your state pension – yet HMRC admits online tool WON'T open for everyone in time

You usually need at least 35 full NI years to get the maximum new state pension (currently £221.20 a week). You can earn qualifying years in a range of ways, including through employment or by claiming certain benefits.

Yet thousands of people still don't have enough years to claim the full amount, which is why many are considering paying to plug gaps. Doing this can be incredibly lucrative. Many, for example, can spend £824 or less and get £5,500 back. To check whether buying missing years might work for you, see our step-by-step State pension boosting guide.

Martin Lewis: 'Can't use the Government's online tool? Call NOW to avoid queues later'

How the online tool works and who can use it

An online tool launched earlier this year to make the process of checking and buying NI contributions easier. It had first been promised to Martin on ITV's The Martin Lewis Money Show Live.

Since launching, HMRC says 10,000 top-ups have been paid for using the online tool, with the largest resulting weekly state pension increase being £107.44 (equivalent to around £5,600 a year).

But the tool can't be used by everyone, and while HMRC initially said it would look to expand the service "in the future", it's now said this WON'T happen ahead of 5 April 2025, the deadline to buy NI years dating back to 2006.

This means you can't and won't be able to use the tool to plug gaps in your NI record if:

• You're already over State Pension age.

• You've been self-employed for any of the years you're trying to pay for.

• You've lived abroad for any of the years you're trying to pay for.

• You're a woman who holds a valid Married Women's Reduced Rate Election certificate.

• You're eligible to apply for Home Responsibilities Protection.

• Your NI record is currently being updated.

If this applies to you, you'll have to ring up to check and buy NI years – see our Voluntary contributions guide for how to do this.

We're asking the Government to ensure its phone lines are appropriately bolstered to cope with increased demand ahead of the upcoming deadline. As Martin has noted above, Government phone lines were unable to cope with the volume of calls ahead of the previous deadlines to plug gaps.

What does HMRC say?

A spokesperson for HMRC said: "Those unable to use the online tool can apply over the phone. We always prioritise resources as needed to manage spikes in demand on our helplines, particularly for upcoming deadlines."