Government launches new online "Check your State Pension forecast" service

The Government has launched a new online service making it easier to check for and fill any gaps in a National Insurance (NI) record to help increase an individual’s state pension.

The Check your State Pension forecast, a joint service by HMRC and the DWP, shows how much a state pension could be increased by detailing the voluntary NI contributions which would be needed to achieve the best pension possible.

Previously, separate telephone calls would be required, first to HMRC to get the NI record updated, then to the DWP for a reassessed state pension entitlement based on improved contribution record, which was a protracted process. However, new capacity at DWP will no doubt be required to process the changes and to avoid a new bottleneck in the system.