Martin Lewis is warning of a change, put in place in 2016, that comes into force in April 2023. With just 48 days to go, the financial guru is urging anyone under the age of 70 and over 45 years old to 'act now'. As the April deadline looms, Martin says Brits risk losing thousands if they ignore the cut-off date.
While the Money Saving Expert was missing for his ITV1 show - Yorkshire Live reported that he was taking time off for half-term to spend time with his family - money savers were still able to heed his advice via the Martin Lewis Podcast. In the podcast, Martin has issued one of his trademark warnings, telling listeners the state pension deadline could cost them a hefty sum if ignored.
Mr Lewis said that by acting now, as much as £7,500 could be saved. He said: "It could leave many thousands of pounds better off, but you need to do it by the end of the tax year, April 5".
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Everyone aged between 45 and 70 could be affected by a change put in place in 2016 that comes into force in April 2023, Martin told his listeners.
Martin Lewis explained: "We need to spread the word on this. On April 6, 2016, that was the day they introduced the new state pension. For those who hit pension age since then, you have been put on the new state pension. As part of that, transitional arrangements were put in place. Those transitional arrangements end this tax year, they end on April 5, 2023. That is why there's an urgency for what I'm about to say".
He continued: "This is all about your National Insurance years. The amount that you get in your state pension is about the number of qualifying years that you have. You can acquire years by working. Minimum wage, and you will get National Insurance credits, or if you're not working there are other ways you can get NI credits, for example, if you are raising children or have a disability.
"Now to get the full state pension when you retire, on the new state pension, you will need 35 years ish. Some of you when you get to retirement will be missing years - it might be you were on a low income or working abroad.
"Anybody listening right now, do this. If you are not yet at state retirement age, go to gov.uk and look up your state pension summary. That will tell you when you will get your pension and it will give you a forecast of how much you are likely to get." He then added that you can go check your National Insurance record to see if there are any gaps in your National Insurance.
How to apply for a pension forecast
Applying online is the quickest way to get a forecast. All the information that you need is on the Government website page along with details of how to 'check your state pension forecast'. You'll need to prove your identity using Government Gateway but if you haven't used this before you can register for Government Gateway by clicking the link.
Once you have your Government Gateway user ID and password, visit the 'check your state pension forecast' page on the Gov.uk website. Applying online is the quickest way to get a forecast. If you'll reach your state pension age in more than 30 days you can also:
- fill in the BR19 application form and send it by post
- call the Future Pension Centre who will post the forecast to you
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