Why HMRC is plugging its new NI gap-filling tool

Last Updated on 20 May 2024

Everywhere I look these days someone is telling me to check my National Insurance record.

I’ve discovered why…

…HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have been working on a whizzo new tool to help people check their NI contributions and fill gaps.

And they’re plugging it like mad.

This is because they’re reducing the amount of time you can go back into the past to fill gaps in your NI record.

At the moment you can go back to 2006. But from next year (April 2025) you’ll only be able to go back six years, i.e. to 2018-19.

This matters because having a gap in your NI record can mean a vastly reduced state pension. In some cases filling a gap now with a few thousand pounds will result in tens of thousands of pounds coming back to you in state pension when you’re old enough to receive it.

In fact the online tool is not wholly new. You’ve always been able to check your NI record via gov.uk and via the HMRC app.

The difference is that it will now work out for you whether it’s worth your while to pay voluntary contributions to fill any gaps, and it will also enable to you pay these contributions straight away.

Whether we like it or not, a lot of HMRC and DWP systems are automated now, and this tool is the latest example.

You can read about the tool here.

And you can access the tool here.

The new tool links up with the HMRC app, which has been improved a lot over the last year or so.

I’m always encouraging people to get their gov.uk personal tax account login, so that they can see their tax/NI info online in real time.

Once you’ve got the login you can also use the HMRC app without having to get to a computer.

Read more about the HMRC app on gov.uk here >

Posted on 20 May 2024