The third and likely final deadline for backfilling your national insurance contributions (NICs) record to boost your state pension is under four months away.

Significant change to eligibility terms

Eleven years ago, the coalition government legislated for extending the minimum NICs record for any state pension entitlement from one year to ten years. NICs backdating rules were relaxed to ease the transition. Missed NICs dating back to 2006/07 could be paid at any time up until 5 April 2023. Beyond that date, the old rules would apply, limiting the maximum backdating period to six tax years.

Predictably, when 2023 arrived, there was a stampede of enquires about NIC records which the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and HMRC could not manage. As a result, the deadline got moved – to 5 July 2023. When that too proved administratively impossible to handle, a third deadline was set: 5 April 2025, giving HMRC and DWP the time to improve their systems.

Four months left

The clock is now ticking on that third deadline, which is unlikely to be extended again. If you have not reached state pension age (now 66 but rising soon) or reached it after 5 April 2017, this is the time to check your NICs record, if you have not already done so.

If you are under 66 the starting point is https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension.