The original deadline for making additional payments was April 5 but in a statement today (March 7), the government extended the deadline to July 31.
Individuals can normally fill gaps in their NI record over the previous six years.
However as part of the transitional arrangements to the new state pension in 2016, people have been able to make voluntary contributions to fill up any gaps in their NI record between April 2006 and April 2016.
The deadline for these voluntary contributions was originally set for April 2023.
The government has decided to extend this by three months due to concerns people were struggling to get through to HM Revenue & Customs.
The government is to be commended for listening to the calls to extend the deadlineSteve Webb, LCP
The government said: “HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions have experienced a recent surge in customer contact. To ensure customers do not miss out, the government intends to extend the April 5 deadline to pay voluntary NICs to July 31 this year.
“This applies to years that would otherwise have been out of time to pay after April 5, up to and including the 2016-17 tax year.
“All voluntary NICs payments will be accepted at the existing 2022-23 rates until the July 31.”
Steve Webb, partner at consultancy LCP, who has been calling for an extension to the deadline, said: “This is great news for people thinking of topping up their state pension. For most people, paying voluntary NI contributions to deal with a shortfall in their state pension makes excellent financial sense.
“But it is also important to make sure that extra contributions are right in your individual case as sometimes additional contributions may not boost your pension. People need time to talk through their options with DWP and then make the correct payment to HMRC and this extension to the deadline should give them time to do this.
“The government is to be commended for listening to the calls to extend the deadline”.
Likewise, Andrew Tully, technical director at Canada Life, said paying voluntary national insurance contributions could be a great deal.
But he warned that care needed to be taken as many people will have sufficient NI to qualify for a full state pension, so did not need to pay more.
