Britons are urged to check their National Insurance records so they know if they will qualify for the full state pension.
Britons may be able to boost their state pension by thousands of pounds, so checking how much they are due could be worthwhile.
Ed Monk at Fidelity International has warned “There can be lots of reasons why you might not get the maximum state pension.”
He explained situations where someone has taken time out of work to raise kids or care for elderly parents if their earnings have been very low or they’ve worked for themselves.
Additionally, if they’ve spent time living and working abroad it can affect their contributions to their record.
All these situations can be reasons why people may not get the full state pension possible.
Mr Monk said: “If that’s the case, it could cost you dearly in retirement.
“That’s because the state pension is extremely valuable income – and very expensive to replace.”
According to the latest market prices, replacing the current maximum state pension (available to those retiring after April 5, 2016) would cost slightly more than £205,430.
Given the high cost of getting it any other way, it makes sense to maximise the income people get from the state pension.
Individuals need at least 10 years of National Insurance contributions (NICs) to qualify for the new state pension and 35 years to receive the full amount.
To get the full basic state pension people will need a total of 30 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions or credits.
Qualifying years are accumulated through working but can also be earned by receiving certain benefits or making voluntary contributions.
Britons can check how many National Insurance credits they have by getting a state pension forecast.
A full NI year usually costs £824 and adds up to £275 each year to one’s pre-tax state pension.
For this tax year, 2023/204 the full amount of state pension is worth £203.85 a week or £10,600.20 a year.
