Martin Lewis issues state pension warning to people born between 1951 and 1984 (original) (raw)

Martin Lewis has warned state pensioners who were born after 1951 over a handy tactic to bag a free £5,400. The BBC Sounds podcast host, Money Saving Expert founder and ITV regular, says the method could work for anyone aged between 40 and 73.

Mr Lewis explained: "There is a potentially unbeatable opportunity everyone aged 40 to 73(ish) needs to consider." The warning means anybody born between 1951 and 1984 may need to act. You've got until 5 April 2025 to buy back any missing national insurance years from 2006 to 2016. This can be prove very lucrative, as some are on course to make over £50,000 in boosts to their state pension by following this guide."

He also stressed the importance of considering this approach even if you fall under the age of 40, demonstrating that there might still be money to gain. The scheme he highlights is based upon the concept of 'buying back' National Insurance years.

The size of your state pension upon retirement relies on the number of full 'qualifying' national insurance (NI) years you've accumulated. Mr Lewis said: "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."

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