Finance expert Martin Lewis has issued an important warning to state pensioners born after 1951 about a helpful strategy to potentially secure a staggering amount of cash.
Martin Lewis Gives State Pension Warning for Anyone Born Between 1951 and 1984
By Lydia Amazouz
Published on 5 October 2024 11:30
Martin Lewis has cautioned state pensioners born after 1951 about a helpful strategy to potentially secure a free £5,400.
Martin Lewis Shares Opportunity to Boost Your State Pension
The host of the BBC Sounds podcast, founder of Money Saving Expert, and regular on ITV states that this approach could benefit anyone aged between 40 and 73, reports BirminghamLive.
He explained that there is a valuable opportunity that everyone in this age range should consider. This means that anyone born between 1951 and 1984 may need to take action.
You have until 5 April 2025 to purchase any missing national insurance years from 2006 to 2016. This could be very rewarding, as some people could see their state pension increase by over £50,000 by following this guidance.
The finance guru also emphasised that it’s important to consider this approach even if you are under 40, as there might still be money to gain. The scheme he highlights is based on the idea of 'buying back' National Insurance years.
Buying Back National Insurance Years Guarantees a Bigger Pension
The amount of your state pension when you retire depends on how many full 'qualifying' national insurance (NI) years you have built up. Mr Lewis stated: "Most collect NI years through working and paying NI, but you can also get them if you're claiming benefits or caring for others (if you're not sure what this is about, see how the new state pension works ). In general, you need around 35 full NI years to get the maximum state pension, though some will need a lot more (we've seen examples of people needing 44+ years) depending on your age and NI record up to now.
"Normally you can buy back up to six years, but when the 'new' state pension was introduced, transitional arrangements were put in place to let you plug gaps all the way back to 2006. This was due to end on 5 April 2023, and then 31 July 2023, but because so many people were trying, the necessary government phone lines got clogged up (mainly due to Martin shouting from the rooftops about it). So the date has been extended to 5 April 2025."