HMRC have announced they will give taxpayers an extra 2 years to plug gaps in their NIC record from April 2006.

This deadline was originally set at 5 April 2023, but has been extended until 5 April 2025.

Normally, individuals can only make voluntary contributions to fill missing weeks for the previous 6 years but HMRC is at present accepting voluntary payments for gaps between April 2006 and April 2017.

This means you now have longer to consider whether making voluntary contributions to boost your state pension entitlement is right for you.

Extending the deadline gives people more time to spread the cost of filling in the gaps, allowing many more to significantly boost the amount of state pension they are entitled to. Voluntary NIC payments will be accepted at the rates applicable in 2022-23.