Martin Lewis issues state pension warning to anyone born between ...

Martin Lewis, the Money Saving Expert founder and regular on ITV, has issued a warning to state pensioners born after 1951 about a useful strategy that could net them a free £5,400. The BBC Sounds podcast host explained: "There is a potentially unbeatable opportunity everyone aged 40 to 73(ish) needs to consider."

This means anyone born between 1951 and 1984 may need to take action. You have until 5 April 2025 to buy back any missing national insurance years from 2006 to 2016.

This could prove very profitable, as some are set to make over £50,000 in boosts to their state pension by following this guide. He also emphasised the importance of considering this approach even if you're under 40, indicating there might still be money to gain.

The scheme he highlights is based on the concept of 'buying back' National Insurance years, reports Birmingham Live. Your state pension upon retirement depends on the number of full 'qualifying' national insurance (NI) years you've accumulated.

Mr Lewis said: "Most collect NI years through working and paying NI, but you can also get them if you're claiming benefits or caring for others. In general, you need around 35 full NI years to get the maximum state pension, though some will need a lot more (we've seen examples of people needing 44+ years) depending on your age and NI record up to now."

"Normally you can buy back up to six years, but when the 'new' state pension was introduced, transitional arrangements were put in place to let you plug gaps all the way back to 2006. This was due to end on 5 April 2023, and then 31 July 2023, but because so many people were trying, the necessary government phone lines got clogged up (mainly due to Martin shouting from the rooftops about it). So the date has been extended to 5 April 2025."