BOOST YOUR STATE PENSION

Currently, state pension is £159.55 a week. But you will only get this full amount if you have made 35 years of National Insurance contributions. If you have less than 10 years, you may not qualify for a state pension. Check how many years’ National Insurance contributions you have made by visiting gov.uk/check-nationalinsurance-record.

If you’re not on track to receive the full amount, there are things you can do: ◆ Check for credits. If you took time out of work because you had children, were caring for a relative or were unable to work owing to a disability, you may be eligible for National Insurance credits. You can claim these to boost your state pension. Visit gov.uk/nationalinsurance-credits/eligibility. ◆ Make voluntary contributions. You may have gaps if you’ve not been eligible for credits. This usually happens if you were employed but had low earnings, had multiple employers, were unemployed and weren’t claiming benefits, or were self-employed but didn’t pay National Insurance contributions because of small profits. If this is you, you can choose to pay voluntary contributions to top up your pension. Visit gov.uk/voluntary-nationalinsurance-contributions. ◆ Get a state pension forecast at gov.uk/checkstate-pension. There you’ll see what you may get and how much tax you may have to pay, as well as find out what your unique state pension age is. GH TIP: If you’re at retirement age but are not yet ready to retire, or are only partially retiring, it’s worth deferring your state pension. You’ll get a substantial boost of income – just less than 5.8% for every full year you defer.

Put more into your workplace pension when you get pay rises