Hundreds of thousands of mothers have been warned against rushing to top-up their by April 5. Up until that date, workers are allowed to plug gaps in their records if they have not built up enough credits to get a full state pension.

Normally you can buy back NI credits for the last six years but the government is allowing workers to buy missing National Insurance years dating back to 2006 in order to allow for a transition from the old state pension to the new state pension which took effect in 2016.

Claiming child benefit allows parents to build up NI credits, which count towards their but changes to child benefit in 2013, when the high-income child benefit charge was introduced, meant many parents stopped claiming it.

The high-income benefit charge meant child benefit was reduced for those earning £50,000 a year and scrapped for anyone earning £60,000

Since then, child benefit can be claimed if one member of the household earns £60,000, but payments stop altogether at £80,000.

Last week, the Government announced that parents who did not claim child benefit would be able to top up their for free. Parents will also be able to apply for National Insurance credits from April 2026, although the exact details have not yet been revealed.

Sir Steve Webb, a partner at LCP and a former pension minister said the government's latest update meant couples, mostly mothers, could waste money paying for National Insurance contributions when they could do it for free next year

Sir Steve said the government needed to explain how the new credits will work: "It is good news that the Government has now confirmed it will press ahead with plans to create a new category of NI credits for parents who opted out of Child Benefit because of the High Income charge. But it also means that parents who were thinking of paying voluntary NI contributions before the 5th April deadline might need to think again, as they are at risk of wasting their money."

Sir Steve said there is a box on your Child Benefit claim form that you can tick to receive just the National Insurance credits - but many parents are unaware of this option. The Government has announced plans to create a new category of National Insurance credit aimed as those who didn't claim Child Benefit despite being entitled to it - but this won't be ready until April 2026.

Workers who have taken time off from employment, such as to raise a family or care for older relatives, may have gaps in their NI contribution history. Each year of voluntary contributions can increase your by £328.64 annually. So if you buy a full year and live 20 years beyond the age, you would receive an additional £6,500 in their for around £907