Pensioner told ‘be patient and wait’ over £15k state pension top-ups payment

A 66-year-old who handed over a £15,000 state pension top-ups payment months ago says he feels let down by the ‘chaotic’ system.

Christopher Dehn, a retired business owner who lives in Portugal, rang the Government twice after his payment in November, but says staff told him ‘be patient and wait’.

He then contacted This is Money, saying: ‘I am now worried that this large sum has become “lost”.’

Britons are rushing to send payments to the Government ahead of a 5 April deadline to buy missing years as far back as 2006, after which you can only backdate six years.

But This is Money continues to receive a stream of complaints from readers about long waits after they hand over cash.

Mr Dehn says: ‘I believe that my payment should have been acknowledged when it was received and I question the financial ethics of taking £15,000 from a pensioner and giving no return on it for four months. It seems somewhat dishonest.

‘I am not, sadly, in good health and I was relying on the increased monthly payments to help towards my medical expenses here in Portugal, but the reality is that now I have neither the £15,000 nor the increased payments.

‘A lose, lose situation for me and a win, win situation for the Government. Hardly fair I feel.’

Christopher Dehn: He received an email from DWP saying he could buy 18 missing years to improve his state pension

After he received official confirmation he could buy 18 years of top-ups and paid for them, Mr Dehn says: ‘Needless to say the cheque was paid in very swiftly. 

‘The form which accompanied the cheque was correctly filled in in complete accordance with the instructions.

‘I am now worried that this large sum has become “lost” in the apparently chaotic system which, I think, is letting me down.’

Former Pensions Minister Steve Webb, now This is Money’s retirement columnist, says: ‘Those who administer the system need to understand how it feels to be on the other side.

‘The lump sum payments which many people are handing over can represent a large chunk out of their savings, and all too often it feels as though the money has gone into a black hole, with no indication that things are progressing and no timetable to see National Insurance records updated and state pensions increased.’

Webb, who is a partner at pension consultant LCP, adds: ‘It cannot be efficient for HMRC and DWP to have to handle repeated calls from people chasing up what has happened to their money.

‘Employing more people to process the payments and seamlessly upgrade state pensions would almost certainly be more cost effective than employing call handlers who aren’t really in a position to know what is going on.’

After This is Money flagged Mr Dehn’s case to the Department for Work and Pensions and HMRC, he received an email just over three hours later which said: ‘His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs have allocated your voluntary contributions.

‘I have revised your state pension today and issued the arrears we owed to you. This will be credited within five working days. I have also posted your new entitlement notice to your postal address.’

He has now received a backpayment of around £2,000, and his state pension has been hiked from £63.74 a week to £176.96.

Mr Dehn told us: ‘I have no doubt that your kind intervention solved my problem and I am most grateful to you for helping me. Thank you.’

The DWP and HMRC, which run the top-ups system between them, said Mr Dehn did not indicate which years he wanted the money allocated to on his NI record or inform them he lived abroad.

They said people who live abroad should apply to pay voluntary National Insurance Contributions using the CF83 online form, which he had not done. They added that they transferred his case to the International Pension Centre to progress his application and his payment has been allocated to his NI record.

A Government spokesperson said: ‘Our new online tool will mean that people are able to make top-up payments after the 5 April deadline, provided they complete the call back request form ahead of that date.

‘This will enable us to ensure no one misses out, and to suitably manage demand as the deadline approaches.’

Should YOU buy top-ups by 5 April to increase your state pension?

Buying top-ups can give a generous boost to retirement income if you buy the correct years on your record.

This is Money’s guide to buying state pension top-ups explains the cost and offers six golden rules on deciding if you should fill gaps by Steve Webb.

Most people can use the Government’s online state pension service to check if it is worth buying missing years and to make payments, or the HMRC app.

But some are not allowed to use this online tool, including people already over state pension age, those self-employed in any of the years they are trying to pay for, and those who lived abroad in the years they want to fill up now (other excepted groups are listed here).

The Government has softened the 5 April deadline on its special offer to buy years going as far back as 2006 – there are now two ways to beat it.

Phone gridlock forced the Department for Work and Pensions to launch a phone callback system for people living at home or abroad.

Lodging a request before 5 April means even if you don’t hear back from helpline staff before that date, you will still be able to buy missing years going as far back as 2006.

The Government advises saving a screenshot of the confirmation message.

You can also get more time to make payments by logging into your National Insurance record.

If you currently click ‘view details’ on any years for which you might want to make voluntary contributions from 2006/07 to 2016/17, you automatically get another month to pay.

Using this little-known trick means if you do this for example on 4 April, you will be given until 4 May to pay.

It is unclear how long the callback service will remain available, and This is Money is trying to establish this.

People wanting more breathing space to buy top-ups should therefore make a callback request now, or click on ‘view details’ on years they might want to buy on their NI record, or do both.

In the jointly-run top-ups system, HMRC is responsible for maintaining National Insurance records, which you must check for gaps in your state pension records, and processing top-up payments.

The DWP is in charge of revising state pension forecasts or payments after purchases.

It is worth knowing which department does what, so you know who to contact if necessary during the process, or later if anything goes wrong.

HMRC says if you use the online tool to buy top-ups most payments will show on the your National Insurance records within five working days.

Those requiring manual processing are being completed in around eight weeks, and more complex cases including international payments that need further checks can take longer depending on individual circumstances, it says.

It is processing postal applications in date of birth order, prioritising those closest to or above state pension age.

People struggling to contact the Government via helplines can complete the callback request form to ask DWP to discuss paying voluntary NI contributions, and if you do this by 5 April you will be able to pay after the deadline has passed.

Those who live abroad can access their Personal Tax Account if they had already registered before they left the UK.

HMRC and DWP: The two Government departments run the state pension top-ups system between them

Tips for buying state pension top-ups

DWP and HMRC offer the following advice.

– We recommend that wherever possible, people use the ‘pay by bank account’ option in the online service as this will prevent errors which require manual processing, leading to delays.

When a payment is made by this option, people will see their NI record update within five working days. This is a fast and secure payment by the Open Banking system.

– When people pay by bank transfer outside of the online service, it can take between five working days and eight weeks for their NI record to update, depending on whether manual processing is required.

– It’s important to ensure you pay the exact amount to prevent delays – even rounding up the amount would mean that manual processing is required.

– When paying by cheque, it takes on average eight weeks for a customer’s NI record to update.

– For people who have already made a voluntary contribution payment, the Government is processing it as quickly as possible, and no one who has sent a payment or form on time will miss out.

– Due to the high volume of payments, people may not receive confirmation until after the 5 April deadline and it may take a while to show in their HMRC online account.

How to buy top-ups from overseas

DWP and HMRC provided the following information.

– People who live outside of the UK and are below state pension age should contact the Future Pension Centre to request a forecast. The telephone number to call from outside the UK is +44 (0)191 218 3600.

– Once they have established if it is beneficial to make voluntary National Insurance contributions to boost their state pension amount, people can use the online service to apply to do so, using the CF83 application form on GOV.UK.

– Once their application is processed by HMRC they will be given 31 days to pay. Therefore, they do not need to pay at the time of their application, as long as they submit their application before the 5 April 2025 deadline.

– People aged above state pension or who are within six months of reaching it need to contact the International Pension Centre by email using the online enquiry form.