Treasury written statement – made at on 12 June 2023.
Victoria Atkins
The Financial Secretary to the Treasury
The government intends to extend the deadline for eligible individuals to retrospectively fill gaps in their National Insurance record for the period covering April 2006 to April 2016. The current 31 July 2023 deadline will be extended to 5 April 2025.
This extension will also apply to contributions relating to all years which would reach their payment deadline before 5 April 2025, including tax years 2016 to 2017 and 2017 to 2018. All relevant voluntary National Insurance contributions (NICs) payments will be accepted at the rates applicable in 2022 to 2023 until 5 April 2025.
This extension means that people will have more time to fill gaps in their National Insurance record that may increase the amount they receive in State Pension.
Furthermore, HMRC and DWP are taking the opportunity through the extension period to make improvements to the digital service, with the intention that ultimately the Majority of customers should be able to complete the process online. Further announcements will follow in due course.
The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.
