HMRC launches new digital service for voluntary national insurance payments
By Chris Campbell, Head of Tax (Tax Practice and Owner Managed Business Taxes)
8 May 2024
As HMRC introduces its online system for voluntary national insurance, we look at how this new platform may help individuals check and fill any gaps in their national insurance record.
Voluntary national insurance has been very topical over the last few months, given the planned changes to backdated payments. Where eligible, a man born after 5 April 1951 or a woman born after 5 April 1953 is currently able to pay voluntary contributions for tax years as far back as April 2006 to preserve their entitlement to state benefits. This is due to change from April 2025, so that voluntary contributions can only be backdated by six years.
To help individuals make decisions about their national insurance contributions, HMRC has recently launched a new digital service that enables them to identify gaps in their contributions history and make the necessary payment to ensure that any missing years can be treated as qualifying.
How the new service will operate
The new digital service, called Check your State Pension forecast, is a joint project between HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). It can be accessed via GOV.UK or through the HMRC app.
Using the platform, individuals can access details of their national insurance contribution record and determine how much their state pension could increase if voluntary contributions were paid for any years where there is a gap. Those under state pension age should be able to directly see the cost in terms of voluntary contributions, as well as the improvement in their state pension if the relevant contributions are made. They will then be given the option to make the required payment electronically so that their contributions can be updated more quickly than previously.
Individuals who wish to use the new service will need to log in to the platform using their Personal Tax Account login details. Those without an online HMRC account can register on GOV.UK.
Agent access
The service is only available to individuals viewing details of their own contributions history. While HMRC’s Income Record Viewer provides agents with a range of details about their client’s income, this doesn’t extend to their national insurance contributions history.
We feel it is important that agents have the ability to access the same information as their clients. We have made representations to HMRC on this matter and will continue to do so via the various forums we attend.
Let us know your views
Please let us know about your experience using this new digital service. We want to hear your feedback, thoughts, observations and concerns so that we can represent your views in our discussions with HMRC.
We welcome your views more generally, which help inform our work on consultations or other tax-related matters. ICAS responds to many tax calls for evidence and consultations, as well as producing tax policy papers and reports. We also regularly attend meetings with HMRC at which service levels, delays and other issues are discussed, and we raise problems being encountered by members.
Please email tax@icas.com to share your insights and feedback.
