Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the (a) average length of time taken between notification being received from HMRC of a change to a person's National Insurance record and that change being reflected in a revised state pension (i) forecast and (ii) award and (b) how many such notifications are outstanding.

This information is only available at disproportionate cost to The Department for Work & Pensions as the Department does not have a business requirement for this information to be retained.

The vast majority of voluntary contributions paid result in records being updated within days, though more complex cases requiring specialist caseworkers can take longer to resolve.

The Government has extended the deadline to 5 April 2025 to give taxpayers more time to fill gaps in their National Insurance record and help increase the amount they receive in State Pension.