Extending the deadline for payment of voluntary national insurance contributions to increase new state pension entitlement

New statutory instrument provides for new deadline of 5 April 2025

New legislation has been issued in relation to extending the deadline for payment of voluntary national insurance contributions (NICs) to increase new state pension entitlement.

Further to the government's announcement on 12 June 2023, the Social Security (Contributions) (Amendment No. 4) Regulations 2023 (SI.No.751/2023) –

  • extend the deadline for paying voluntary NICs for contribution years between 6 April 2006 and 5 April 2016, from 31 July 2023 to 5 April 2025;
  • extend the deadline for paying voluntary NICs for the 2016 to 2017 and 2017 to 2018 contribution years, which otherwise would have been too late to pay after 31 July 2023 and 5 April 2024 respectively; and
  • apply the 2022/2023 rates to payments of voluntary NICs made before the new 5 April 2025 deadline for all years between 6 April 2006 and 5 April 2023.

Setting out the policy background to the change, the explanatory memorandum to the regulations says that –

'As part of transitional arrangements introduced alongside the new State Pension, from 6 April 2013, individuals were given until 5 April 2023 to pay voluntary NICs to make up gaps in their National Insurance record between 6 April 2006 and 5 April 2016. As the 5 April deadline approached, HMRC and the DWP experienced a significant level of customer contact about paying voluntary NICs.

The government decided to extend the deadline to 31 July 2023. This was introduced by the Social Security (Contributions) (Amendment No.3) Regulations 2023 (SI.No.309/2023). Despite this deadline extension contact levels have remained significant that any voluntary NICs paid for contribution years 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025 will be subject to the normal rules and rates.'

NB – the explanatory memorandum also confirms that voluntary NICs paid for the contribution years 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 will be subject to the normal rules and rates.

SI.No.751/2023 is available from legislation.gov.uk