Millions could risk losing up to £7,500 if they do not check this simple detail before April 5

Money Saving Expert, Martin Lewis has warned that the introduction of the new state pension could cost people up to £7,500 if they don’t act now. He advised that everyone aged under 70 could have their pension payments affected by the change that was put in place in 2016.

The change affects how much you can top up your pension contributions, which will change how much pension you will receive when you retire. Lewis warned people that the deadline is fast approaching on April 5 of this year.

Money Saving Expert

Martin explained to the situation to the listeners of his podcast, as per Yorkshire Live:

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.

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.

He went on to urge people to check their pension forecast on gov.uk, where they will find a state pension summary. It is also possible to then check your National Insurance record to see if there are any gaps in your National Insurance.

Read more:

⋙ Millions in their 50s could pay £10K extra in taxes and contributions when state pension age goes up to 68

⋙ Thousands urged to claim £200 cash payment before deadline

Read more:

⋙ Millions to receive first £301 instalment of £900 cost-of-living payment

How to check your pension forecast

To check your pension forecast, the easiest way is to apply online as all the information is available on the Government website page. You'll first need to create an account using a Government Gateway - if you haven't done this before you can go here to register.

Once you have your Government Gateway user ID and password, you can go to the 'check your state pension forecast' page on the Gov.uk website.

If you will reach your state pension age in more than 30 days you can also:

• fill in the BR19 application formand send it by post
• call the Future Pension Centre who will post the forecast to you

Voluntary contributions are normally possible for the past 6 years. However, people currently have the opportunity, until 5 April 2023, to pay voluntary contributions to make up for gaps between tax years April 2006 and April 2016.

After 5 April 2023 you’ll only be able to pay for voluntary contributions for the past 6 years. If you have fewer than 4 qualifying years on your National Insurance record, it may not be enough to qualify for a new State Pension. You’ll usually need at least 10 qualifying years in total. The full amount of the new State Pension is £185.15 per week, as per gov.uk.

Sources used:

- Yorkshire Live 'Martin Lewis warns everyone aged under 70 to 'act now' before 'urgent deadline''

- Nottinghamshire Live 'Martin Lewis issues 'urgent' 48-day warning for under 70s who risk losing £7,500'

- Gov.uk 'Voluntary National Insurance'