State Pensions

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.

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.

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.

Aged between 45 and 70? You could be missing years off your state pension worth £1,000s, so check NOW. That's the warning from MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE) founder Martin Lewis in the second episode of the latest series of ITV's The Martin Lewis Money Show Live.

The Prime Minister today (19 October) said she was "completely committed" to the triple lock, meaning millions of people claiming the state pension could receive a 10.1% increase in payments from April. However, given the ongoing cost of living crisis and economic uncertainty the Government has yet to officially confirm whether this will be the case, or whether benefits will rise by the same amount. 

If you stayed at home to care for family, as far back as 1978, your national insurance (NI) record may have been hit with errors that could see you missing out on £1,000s in state pension payments. Below we explain how to check and claim.  

Hundreds of thousands more retirees, mainly women, have been found to have been underpaid their state pension, with the collective shortfall running to £1.5 billion, according to new Government figures. Here's how to check if you've been affected.

Millions will see benefit payments, such as universal credit and child benefit, rise from today under an uplift for the new financial year. If your family income is under £30,000 and you're not in receipt of any state support - it's worth spending 10 minutes to check if you're due benefits.

Friends or relatives can ignore requests by the Government to return overpaid state pension payments in the event of the recipient's death, as there is no legal obligation to pay the money back. 

An administrative error that resulted in decades of state pension underpayments, particularly for women, has been called a "shameful shambles" by a public spending watchdog. But if you think you've been affected and underpaid it's important you check to see if you are owed money.