State pensioners given £0 state pension payments due to HMRC tax rule | Personal Finance | Finance
This is thanks to the lucrative triple lock, with benefits for older people being increased every year; But not all state pensioners are lucky enough to receive £241.30 each week from the DWP.
Attention has recently turned to the rise of the state pension age; This means older people have to wait longer to receive their DWP state pension; because the qualifying age will increase from the current 66 to 67 over the next two tax years.
However, many people may not be aware that not everyone is given a state pension by default when they reach state pension age; There are National Insurance tax rules that determine whether you will receive any payments. Only those who have accumulated at least 10 years of National Insurance on tax records held by HMRC will be able to get a state pension.
National Insurance credits are generally earned through work and you need to earn more than the Personal Allowance threshold of £12,570 in a single year to earn tax credits by paying National Insurance.
There are other ways to earn credit, such as looking after children and claiming Child Benefit, being on statutory sick pay, doing jury service, becoming a foster carer or attending a government-approved training course.
As explained on Martin Lewis’ Money Saving Expert website: “If you have less than 10 qualifying NI years by the time you reach State Pension age, you will not be able to get any State Pension.”
But for those reaching or nearing retirement age, it’s not too late to fix this. Those who are not ready to take any state pension can purchase National Insurance tax credits to make up for missing or partially completed years.
MSE adds: “If this is you, here’s what you can do: Buy NI contributions To help you exceed the 10-year limit. For people who have reached State Pension age and have low income, Pension Credit “It can also help.”
The MSE continues: “If your State Pension is, or is expected to be, below £241.30 per week and you cannot cover the gaps in any other way, it may be unwise to top up.”
It will cost £923 to buy for the 2025-26 tax year just ended in tax credit, but will add around £358 a year to your state pension. This means you only have to live three more years to “make a profit” on the expenses.
