Online tool to check national insurance shortfalls

Online tool to check national insurance shortfalls

If you have gaps in your national insurance payments dating back to 2006, you will be able to check online using a new HMRC tool to see if you need to make additional contributions.

The ‘Check your State Pension forecast online tool’ is now live and is a joint service run by HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). This tool calculates whether any outstanding contributions are needed to ensure you receive the full state pension when they retire.

The state pension age is set to rise to 67 years between 2026 and 2028 for those born from 1 April 1960, and is expected to rise again.

The tool shows taxpayers how much their state pension could increase and details of the voluntary NI contributions they would need to pay to achieve this.

It allows most people under state pension age to view gaps in their NI record and pay voluntary contributions to fill those gaps if it will benefit them.

Users of the new digital service can choose which years they would like to pay to fill. They can then pay securely through the service and will receive confirmation that their payment has been received and that their NI record will be updated.

Last year, the government extended the deadline to pay voluntary NI contributions to 5 April 2025 for those affected by new state pension transitional arrangements. This covers tax years from 6 April 2006 to 5 April 2018.

From 6 April 2025, people will only be able to pay voluntary contributions for the previous six tax years, in line with normal time limits.

HMRC have warned that ‘paying voluntary contributions will not always increase their state pension but everyone can use the new service to check whether they could be better off in retirement before making any voluntary NI payments.’

To access the new digital service, you will need to log on using your Personal Tax Account details or through the HMRC app. Those without an online HMRC account will need to register.