Enhanced ‘Check Your State Pension’ forecast service: Now available

Agents will be aware that men born after 5 April 1951 or woman born after 5 April 1953, have until 5 April 2025 to pay voluntary National Insurance contributions to make up gaps from 6 April 2006 if they are eligible. The 5 April 2025 deadline is for paying voluntary National Insurance contributions for tax years 2006 to 2007 to 2017 to 2018 (as they would otherwise have dropped out of time). 

We wanted to let you know that most of your clients can now take advantage of an enhanced online digital service which HMRC and DWP have delivered on GOV.UK or link through the HMRC app.

The enhanced service provides information to help your clients decide whether to pay voluntary National Insurance contributions based on which years are available for them to fill and the cheapest or most beneficial years to pay. If your clients have fillable gaps they are then able to follow the process and pay online, should they decide to do so.

The service has been launched just under a year ahead of the 5 April 2025 deadline. We encourage you to ask your clients to use the Check Your State Pension forecast service at the earliest opportunity either online or link through the HMRC app, so that they have time to identify any shortfalls and see if they would benefit by paying voluntary National Insurance contributions, if they chose to do so.

Most customers can use the online service without needing to phone HMRC or DWP, including those living abroad who want to pay voluntary contributions for years they were resident in the UK. However, it is not currently available to those who are already receiving their State Pension, self-employed customers, customers currently living outside the UK with gaps incurred while working abroad, customers within 8 days and 4 months of or over State Pension age and those whose National Insurance records are being updated.