HMRC is writing to some self-employed individuals whose National Insurance (NI) records may contain gaps that could affect their State Pension.
The issue affects some people who were self-employed between 2015 and early 2024. HMRC believes up to 800,000 taxpayers could be affected.
What should you do?
If you receive a letter, don’t ignore it. In some cases, you may be able to boost your State Pension by making voluntary NI contributions for missing years going back as far as 2015-16.
If HMRC contacts you, use your Personal Tax Account on GOV.UK to check:
- Your State Pension forecast.
- Your National Insurance record.
- Whether there are any missing years.
- Whether filling those gaps would increase your State Pension.
Receiving a letter does not necessarily mean you have a problem. Many people already have enough qualifying years to receive the full State Pension, in which case paying extra NI would provide no benefit.
Why this matters
Normally, there is a time limit on paying voluntary NI contributions. However, HMRC’s current exercise may allow affected individuals to fill gaps potentially dating back to 2015-16. For those who are affected, this could be a relatively low-cost way to increase their retirement income.
