A statement of your National Insurance account tells you how much National Insurance you have paid each year. It tells you how many National Insurance credits you have, and more importantly if any of the years included are not “qualifying years”.
Qualifying years are needed for entitlement to the full basic state pension. Currently the number of qualifying years needed are as follows:-
| If you reach State Pension age on or after 6 April 2010 | MEN – 30WOMEN – 30 |
| If you reached State Pension age before 6 April 2010 | MEN – 44 normallyWOMEN – 39 normally |
If you don’t have the full number of qualifying years at State Pension age the amount you’ll receive will depend on the date you reached State Pension age and the number of qualifying years you’ve built up. Something as simple as an NI number missing from a P60 from a few years ago could mean that your National Insurance payments have not been allocated to your record.
You can request a National Insurance Record check yourself or alternatively your authorised agent can request one on your behalf. HM Revenue & Customs have millions of pounds sitting unallocated in their accounts so this is definitely a worthwhile exercise!
If you would like further information or assistance on this matter please give us a call on 01733 371180.