Pensions

A new online service designed to simplify how you check and pay for voluntary national insurance (NI) contributions is due to launch before the end of this financial year, the Government has confirmed to MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE). 

If you're getting the state pension and receive a letter from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in the post, DON'T bin it. It's not a scam, and it could help you boost your pension by £10,000s. Below we explain what you need to know and answer your most common questions.

Workers aged 18 and above may benefit from a 'hidden' pay rise in future as the Government now has the power to lower the age limit to be automatically enrolled into workplace pensions from 22 to 18. It can also now lower the minimum earnings threshold at which your employer must start paying in.

If you're a woman in your 60s or 70s who stayed at home to care for children before 2010, you may be missing out on £1,000s in state pension payments due to errors in your national insurance record. You don't need to do anything for the time being, though you will need to claim your missing state pension payments later this year.

The deadline to top up missing national insurance years between 2006 and 2016 has been extended for a second time – now to 5 April 2025 – and the price of doing so will remain frozen at current costs during this period. The changes mean you'll have more time to check your record and see if you can boost your state pension.

The maximum annual tax-free amount you can save into a pension once you've taken money out of it will rise from £4,000 to £10,000 from 6 April. Meanwhile, the amount you can save into your pension tax-free each year is also set to rise, as is the amount you can save into pensions over a lifetime. The shake-up was announced by the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in today's Budget. 

The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has today announced a range of new tax, benefits and energy measures in his Budget. But, as MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis points out, income tax thresholds will remain frozen – meaning millions will be pulled into paying more tax through a process known as 'fiscal drag'. Below we round up the key announcements and you can also watch Martin's instant reaction.

The deadline to top up missing national insurance years between 2006 and 2016 has been extended to 31 July 2023, while the price of doing so will be frozen at current costs during this period. The moves come after many people reported being unable to access essential Government helplines to get vital information ahead of the previous 5 April deadline.

If you're aged under 70, you have just weeks left to boost your state pension by £1,000s or even £10,000s – so check NOW. That's what MoneySavingExpert.com's founder Martin Lewis urged everyone to do in a special 90-minute everything you need to know about pensions episode of ITV's The Martin Lewis Money Show Live.

Nearly 12 million pensioners should have received their £150 or £300 cost of living payment by today, the Government has said. The non-repayable grants were paid as part of the existing Winter Fuel Payments scheme starting in November last year. Here's what to do if you think you're due the payment but haven't yet got it.