Martin: 'Are you aged around 45 to 70? You may be able to turn £800 into £5,500+ by boosting your state pension. Yet the clock is ticking...'

On 6 April 2016, a new state pension system was introduced for anyone who'd hit state pension age on or after that date, which means roughly everyone who's currently 70 or under today. So why am I talking about it now? Well, as part of that change, some transitional arrangements were put in place that END this tax year, so check now if you can use those to gain £10,000s. The team have worked hard on a new, full Urgently consider buying national insurance years guide. Here's my SIMPLIFIED explainer so you can see if it's a relevant read.

• This is all about buying extra 'national insurance (NI) years'. State pension payouts are based on the number of 'qualifying NI years' you have. Most people acquire these while working or when getting NI credits (eg, for bringing up children). The first step is to check your pension forecast and/or check how many NI years you have.
  
  
• To get the full state pension, you'll often - but not always - need around 35 qualifying NI years. The current full state pension is £185.15/week. Depending on your age and NI record, you may need more or less years than 35 to get this full amount, but if you don't have enough you'll likely get less pension. Common scenarios where this happens include those who spent years abroad, had periods on low income, or contracted out of the state pension.
  
  
• Until 5 April 2023, you can buy years to plug NI gaps back to 2006. After that, it's only back six years. When the transitional arrangements end, the number of extra years purchasable drops, so checking now is key. Those at or near state pension age will find it relatively easy to see if topping up may help.
  
  If you're younger, the check shows how many years you already have, and how many are left. If a shortfall is likely and you've NI gaps for 2006 to 2016, you need to decide by the tax-year end whether to top up. Though the younger you are, the more time you have to earn the max years through work or NI credits. That's why I've said this is roughly for over-45s or maybe over-50s, as under that you've so many years left until state pension age, it'd be taking a real risk to buy now unless you're sure you won't make them up later (eg, as you live overseas).
  
  
• For some with the cash, it'll be very lucrative: each £800 could net a (mostly) inflation-proof £5,800. We've built a simple state pension NI contribution top-up calculator to help with the maths. A full voluntary NI year costs £800ish, but could add up to an extra £275 ANNUALLY to your state pension - so the break-even point is hit if you live just three years after getting your pension (or if you're already getting it, after you top up).
  
  

  If a man who's reached age 66 lives the typical 19 more years, a woman 21 more years, then for EACH £800 spent, a man can expect to get £5,300 extra pension, a woman £5,800.

  Plus the state pension currently (usually) has a triple lock, meaning it rises with the highest of inflation, 2.5% or average earnings (though the average earnings figure is suspended this year). Therefore for many, unless you've a chronic condition likely to substantially impact life expectancy, if this works for you it's virtually unbeatable.

• WARNING: Do not rely solely on our calculations - this is complex. You'll note I've written a lot of 'for most', 'up tos' and 'usuallys' above, as there are a lot of complex factors here. Our calculator and guide are designed to see if doing this is likely a winner, but it's not certain, so before you shell out, ALWAYS call up the Future Pension Centre to get a bespoke answer on whether this is worth it for you.
  
  Even then, all you'll be told is the impact on your state pension, there are still a few more buts... such as for those who will be relying almost solely on state pension income, it mightn't be worth it as you're eligible for a pension credit top-up (though nearly a million eligible don't claim). So do also see the list of buts we've prepared.

New. The top way to spend abroad. The competition's fierce. Act now to get unbeatable exchange rates and cashback every time you travel

Millions have already booked their summer breaks, and the clock is ticking. If you're due to spend in a foreign currency (even just shopping on overseas websites), there are often huge hidden fees - so STOP PAYING TO PAY. Top cards for using abroad give you near-perfect, bureau-beating exchange rates every time you travel, and the current crop of deals are as strong as we can ever recall...

PS: If you prefer cash for budgeting, that's fine, just ensure you do a travel cash comparison to get the best rates.

• How specialist overseas spending cards work. Spend on plastic abroad, and the banks get a near-perfect exchange rate on the day, but most charge a 'non-sterling exchange fee' on top. So £100 worth of euros costs £103. Yet the specialist cards don't do this, so you get just the same top rate the bank does. Get one now, then you can use it on every trip...

- Which wins? It's a tough call. Chase is easiest to get, and if you'd spend over £2,000 on it home & abroad in 12 months it beats Halifax's cashback (it also pays high interest on savings), yet it's not the best if you withdraw lots of cash, and you must preload it before spending.

With the other two, you just use them and are billed later (only do it if you'll pay off IN FULL each month - preferably by direct debit - or these aren't for you). Halifax Clarity's boon is the speedy £20. Plus it and Barclaycard Rewards have long been top cards abroad while Chase is a new entrant, so only time will tell if its no-fees overseas offer is just an initial loss leader to acquire new cardholders to build the business, or is here for the longer term.

- Poor credit scorer? The 118 118 Money credit card is designed for you, and is similar to those above but without cashback, yet do fully repay each month or it's a horrid 34% rep APR. Full info & options in Top travel cards (APR examples).

• To lock in a rate, get a top prepaid travel card. The cards above give you the top exchange rates on the day you spend. Specialist prepaid cards let you load on to them in advance, and choose the day the currency is converted. Though of course that means you're taking a punt on how you think rates will move.
  
  App-only Revolut* costs £4.99 and gives the perfect interbank rate midweek on up to £1,000 exchanged per 30-day period (with a 0.5% fee above), but adds a 1% fee at weekends. Plus you can only do £200/month of fee-free ATM withdrawals. Revolut won't credit-check you, but you will be ID-checked. Our full review and more options are in Prepaid travel cards.