The phonelines for the Department of Work and Pensions are reportedly 'overwhelmed' with people trying to reach the State Pension top-up deadline, savers claim. According to This is Money, their readers claim they either cannot get through to the phonelines or staff cannot give them their crucial information.
Savers have been calling to find out whether it is worth paying the voluntary National Insurance contributions, Lancashire Live reports. If you do this, you could benefit from a boost to your retirement income, albeit if you buy or fill up the correct years.
The deadline, which is usually six years, has been extended back to 2006/7 - however it will expire on April 5. But it can be difficult to work out which years will be of benefit to you, with the information line being run by the DWP.
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Top-up payments of up to £824 for each year, less for a part-year gap, must be made to HMRC. The Government and other money experts warn that anyone thinking of looking should check the Future Pensions Centre first.
However, it's not as easy as just contacting the DWP, as This is Money readers have complained that it "takes hours to get through to the Future Pension Centre, or sometimes no one answers, or at the phone menu stage the line goes dead". Some have complained that, if they do get through, they are given conflicting advice from staff.
When This is Money put the complaints to the DWP and HMRC, a Government spokesperson said: "Voluntary contributions do not always increase your state pension. Customers should make sure they would benefit before making any payments. The quickest and easiest way for customers to see information about their state pension and National Insurance record is online. If customers need to contact us, both HMRC and DWP will ensure calls are answered as quickly as possible."
Former Pensions Minister Steve Webb said: "Even the DWP admits that paying extra contributions will not always boost your pension and encourage people to check before paying. But if people cannot get through to the DWP's helplines to check, what are they meant to do?
"Given the impending deadline, it is vital that DWP either boosts the capacity of its helplines as a matter of urgency or extends the April deadline. For some people, getting their National Insurance record sorted out before 6 April could make a huge difference to their standard of living in retirement."
A columnist on This is Money, Steve Webb runs a website that helps people through the process. He says the Government's 'check your state pension' website is useful but does not help people to decide which years, if any, they should top up.
Hosted by his firm LCP, the site works to plug the gap for those who come under the 'new' state pension system which was launched in April 2016 for men born on or after 6 April 1951, and women born on or after 6 April 1953. He also has a number of 'golden rules' for buying the top-ups. His first is to make sure you are getting 'any credits you are entitled to before paying voluntary NI for a particular year'. It says: "For example, grandparents under pension age may be able to get credits towards their state pension if they are looking after a grandchild, enabling the child's parent to go out to work."
The second is that it should be checked whether it makes sense for any individual to top-up based on their individual circumstances. The third is to check: "Some years may be cheaper to fill than others. If, for example, you worked for part of a year, you may find that you can complete that year more cheaply than filling a year that was completely blank."
Number four in the rules states to "Fill gaps at the Class 2 rate if you can." This is because "voluntary NI for the self-employed is much cheaper than for employees - currently £163.80 per year, rather than Class 3 contributions at £824.20 per year." Number five is to see if those on benefits in retirement, who might find their increased state pension "is clawed back in reduced pension credit or housing benefit."
The last rule is to "Always check before handing over any money." Adding: "The rules are complex and you can sometimes fill a gap which makes no difference to your final pension."
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