HMRC clarifies timeframes for National Insurance top-up towards state pension

HMRC has clarified the process for paying voluntary National Insurance (NI) contributions after an apparent discrepancy in what it told two different customers. One person reached out to the tax authority over social media on May 6, to ask how long it takes for voluntary NI payments to show on your NI record.

The tax department said in response that it usually takes a couple of weeks, although it can take longer if "manual intervention" is needed. However, another person contacted the group over social media the following day (May 7), to ask how long it would take for voluntary class 2 NI contributions made by bank transfer to appear on their online record.

HMRC told them the process can take up to three to five working days to "process the payment from the date you made or sent it". But this person replied to say that in their particular case, they were facing a much longer wait. They explained: "I made the payments in January and March, and nothing has been updated.

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"I was told by one staff member it was an 8-week wait and another it was a 28-week wait, and now you're saying 3-5 days. Could you confirm please?" HMRC told the person that the social media team couldn't view their personal records, encouraging them to call the self assessment helpline on 0300 200 3310 or to try the webchat .

HMRC was asked to clarify the timeframes involved and what it meant by 'manual intervention' in its response to the first customer, and why this can make the process longer. An HMRC spokesperson said: "The vast majority of payments are reflected in National Insurance records within five working days.

"There are some unusual cases which require manual processing and we’ve deployed extra staff to tackle wait times for these so no one is left out of pocket." HMRC said the majority of payments for customers using the online will show on their NI records within five working days.

Customers are encouraged to use the 'pay by bank account' option in the online service to avoid errors that require an HMRC official to make some changes - this is what it meant by 'manual intervention' - as this can lead to delays.

HMRC gave some examples of what 'manual interventions' can cause delays in your record being updated:

• If a customer hasn’t paid the exact amount (i.e., they’ve rounded up to the nearest pound);
• If a customer has not obtained an 18-digit reference number before paying. They can get one by calling the .
• When a customer has made a payment without contacting HMRC to say which years they want to pay for.
• If a customer has paid by cheque.
• If a customer is overseas.

If a manual intervention is needed, delays can be up to 24 weeks for UK customers and up to 28 weeks for overseas customers. HMRC prioritises customers who are over state pension age whose applications require manual processing, with extra staff deployed for this purpose.

The department said there has also been "increased wait times" due to a recent surge in applications ahead of the end of the previous tax year, that ended on April 5 this year. The close of the 2024/2025 tax year marked an important deadline, as you could top up your NI contributions over an extended period, as far back as the 20026/2007 tax year, up until the end of that financial year.

You can usually only top up over the past six tax years, and the system has now reverted to these standard parameters. The full new state pension currently pays £230.25 a week, and you typically need 35 years of full contributions to get the full new amount.