1. Check your state pension record
In order to qualify for a full new state pension, which is £203.85 a week (£10,600 a year), you typically need to have a 35-year history of paying national insurance (NI) contributions. People who have breaks in their employment record may not qualify for the full amount. You can check your state pension forecast online to find out if you have gaps to fill. This should boost your future retirement income.
“The first thing to do is check to see if you qualified for a benefit that comes with a voluntary NI credit,” says Helen Morrissey, the head of retirement analysis at the investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown. “Child benefit or universal credit are key examples. If you were eligible, you can look at whether you can backdate a claim and get the necessary credits.”
In many cases you can also buy voluntary NI contributions for the past six years. Currently, many men born after 5 April 1951 and women born after 5 April 1953 can pay to plug gaps going back to 2006. The deadline for doing this has been extended several times – currently, you have until 5 April 2025 to apply. Crucially, you should check with the Department for Work and Pensions to make sure you really can benefit from buying contributions – this may not be the case if you were ever “contracted out” under the old state pension system.
2. Restart pension payments
It is thought that during the last couple of years, millions of Britons have cut their pension contributions or stopped paying in altogether.
“If you’ve been forced to cut back or even stop paying into pensions during the cost of living crisis, then it’s important to resume them as soon as you can afford to,” Morrissey says.
Set up alerts to remind you to revise your contributions. If you are still paying in, set regular reminders to see if you can increase the amount – a pay rise or paying off a debt might mean you can afford bigger contributions.
Additional voluntary contributions (AVCs) are the extra contributions you can make towards your pension over and above the standard rates that you and your employer pay in. With some employers, for every £1 you pay in AVCs, the company will pay an extra 50p or even £1. If you haven’t already, check what the score is at your workplace.
Another option is a free standing additional voluntary contributions (FSAVC) plan, a standalone “extra” pension pot that you set up and pay into yourself.
4. Track down old pensions
If you have moved jobs a number of times – and most of us have – you may have a few pensions scattered about, and may even have lost track of some. Contact the government’s Pension Tracing Service with the names of your former employers to get the contact details for the relevant providers.
“Once you’ve tracked down all your pensions, it can make sense to consolidate them into a self-invested personal pension (Sipp) or other pension,” Morrissey says.
She adds that having one overarching view of your pensions makes them easier to manage, cuts down on admin and can save you money on fees.
However, some argue that combining all your pensions in one place isn’t right for everyone – some older policies may have features that would be lost if transferred, or you may be hit with hefty exit charges, so check.
5. Don’t put your head in the sand
“There’s a real fear factor around pensions which can make people hesitant to engage,” Morrissey says. “They worry they have left it too late or not contributed enough but the important thing to remember is that you can always make a difference.”
6. Are you OK with where your money is?
A chunk of the trillions invested in UK pensions funds industries such as fossil fuels and weapons but there are things you can do to make your retirement fund more eco-friendly.
Most workplace pension schemes automatically put members into a default fund. This may, or may not, be very – or at all – green. But many offer an ethical or sustainable fund option, and staff can opt to pay some, or all, of their contributions into that. If it’s not clear what the deal is, talk to the trustees of your scheme.
To be fair, some enlightened employers are giving their default funds a green makeover.
7. Crack on with your tax return
Almost 5.7 million people haven’t yet filed their self-assessment tax return, HM Revenue and Customs revealed this week. The deadline is 31 January, so don’t put it off – carve out some time this weekend or in the next few days to get it done.
One of the first tasks is to find all the documents, etc that you need, such as your P60, P45, P11D, PAYE coding notices and tax certificates for investments.
The good news is that the website and app are pretty user-friendly, and if your affairs are simple, you may be able to get it done in as little as 20-30 minutes.
The bad news is that if you have never filed a tax return before, you will need to register first, and that will take a bit of time.