Over 1 million UK pensioners risk reduced state pensions | Personal Finance | Finance

HMRC has issued a warning that some state pensioners could fail to receive their “full” state pension amounts from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

If you don’t contribute to National Insurance, there may be gaps in your National Insurance record, HMRC cautioned via Twitter/X. “I have checked my Government pension and I found out that I have a lower monthly pension,” one taxpayer revealed.

“It appears that I was paying a lower rate of income tax for six years while self-employed, which was between permanent employment. I’m 63 and I’ve worked all my life, can I get full pension?” In response, HMRC stated: “You usually need 35 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions to get the full amount.

“You’d need to check your NI history to see how many qualifying years you have.”

The taxpayer queried: “I do have over 45 years contributions but six years I worked self-employed but paid less for those two years.”

“Is there any way I can top those six years up?” To this, HMRC responded: “You’d need to contact the Future Pension Centre for an adviser to confirm.

“If they check your record and then confirm it’s worth your while to make a top-up for those years, we can then advise on the next steps.”

You cannot make voluntary payments if there are no gaps in your National Insurance record – unless you’re receiving Class 3 credits and qualify to pay Class 2 contributions, are a married woman or widow paying reduced rate National Insurance or have missed the deadline for paying contributions for the period with gaps , reports Birmingham Live.

Review your National Insurance record to discover if you have any gaps and what it will cost to make voluntary payments.

You can also verify if you’ll gain from making voluntary payments or if you can pay online.

If there are gaps in your National Insurance record, check if you qualify for National Insurance credits before choosing to make voluntary payments.

Get in touch with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) if you believe your National Insurance record is incorrect.