Savers say state pension top-ups are caught in system for months – as deadline on particular deal looms

Savers buying state pension top-ups are reporting long wait times ahead of a crucial deadline.

The size of the current backlog is unknown, but applications are processed in date order, and as long as you get your payment in by 5 April you will benefit from a special deal.

Until that date, savers can pay to fill gaps in their state pension records dating back 18 years, after which it will revert to just six years – unless the deadline is pushed back again, as happened twice when the system was overwhelmed in 2023.

The Department for Work and Pensions and HMRC, which run the system between them, say high demand means response times are slower, and they are sorry for the anxiety this causes customers.

They add that they are continuing to prioritise resources to support customers applying to make voluntary National Insurance contributions leading up to the deadline.

But we continue to hear from readers whose money disappeared into the system  last year, and get little or no help from Government staff who only warn them to expect long delays.

Nigel Taylor, pictured, paid £2,700 last July after first checking with staff which years to buy. 

He celebrated his 66th birthday at the end of December, but he was forced to put off taking his state pension because only some of his top-ups had been processed.

We have heard in recent days from a reader living in France who has been trying since November 2023 to find out which years she needs to buy to get a full state pension.

She told us at one point last summer she ‘actually started crying with frustration’ on the phone to the DWP, when her file went missing and although it could be retrieved from HMRC it would take another 20 weeks to get an answer on what years to top up.

She finally received this vital information last week, and paid HMRC for top-ups immediately.

Many people can now use the Government’s online tool launched in 2024 to check if they should fill state pension gaps and buy top-ups.

But some cannot, including people over state pension age or those who were self-employed or living overseas for any of the years they are trying to buy – find a list of excepted groups below.

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, our retirement columnist.

The system is run jointly by two Government departments. 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.

If money goes missing, it is hard to tell at which stage it happened and therefore which department to chase about it. Readers constantly tell us how they call and are sent round in circles, never finding any staff member willing to help solve the problem.

Today, we highlight SIX more cases of lost cash, some dating back to the first half of last year. Some, but not all, involve people currently living overseas, or who have moved back to the UK after working abroad. If your payment has gone missing, scroll down to find out how to contact us.

A Government spokesperson said: ‘Top-up payments received before the 5 April deadline will be reflected in customers’ National Insurance records once they have been processed.

‘Customers can check for updates and view their record by creating an online Personal Tax Account, which they can access via GOV.UK and the HMRC app.’

Steve Webb, a former Pensions Minister who is now a partner at LCP, says: ‘With the deadline for topping up your state pension approaching rapidly, people urgently need up-to-date information about their NI record so that they can make informed choices.

‘Where people cannot get through on the phone to ask questions, or pay money and then hear nothing for months, they are understandably anxious that they may miss the deadline.

‘HMRC and DWP need to devote extra staff to getting these payments loaded much more quickly so that people know where they stand and don’t have to waste their time sitting on hold on phone lines to check what is going on.’

Liberal Democrat  Work and Pensions spokesperson, Steve Darling MP, says: ‘The more I learn about DWP, the more I realise how broken the system is, with its systemic failings and desperate need for top-to-bottom reform. 

‘It is deeply disappointing that people trying to do the right thing are being given the run around by a farcical government bureaucracy.’

Ros Altmann, a former Pensions Minister who now sits in the House of Lords, says: ‘My assumption is that huge numbers of DWP staff were redeployed in the second half of last year onto pension credit work and that may have meant more backlogs for state pension work itself.

‘The administration of the NI state pension top-ups is part DWP and part HMRC and can be a time consuming process needing manual input.

‘I hope staff are now focusing again on state pension as the pension credit deadline was in December.’

Retired bus driver had to delay drawing his state pension

Nigel Taylor, a retired bus driver from the Isle of Man, confirmed with Government staff which years to buy before handing over £2,700 last July.

He chased it up after three months, and told us: ‘Following a phone call to both DWP and HMRC it transpired they had placed the payment into a general account and it wasn’t set to be allocated anywhere.’

Mr Taylor turned 66 in December, but felt he should delay claiming his state pension until this was sorted out.

After we raised his case, the Government used his unallocated money to top up his state pension, and let him know how to fill an additional gap in his record.

Nikki Hirrill began the process of buying top ups in May 2023, while still living in Australia and working there as a civil servant.

The 63-year-old, who moved to Dorset in July that year, had to send in a form three times in total before it was assessed, and it took a year for the DWP to tell her which years would boost her state pension.

She immediately handed over nearly £1,600 in May last year, but then faced another frustrating wait.

When Ms Hirrill rang HMRC last August she was told it was currently processing payments received on 3 March so she should expect hers to be allocated some time in November. When she checked back in November, she was told it was currently processing payments received on 5 March.

‘So it would appear that HMRC had taken three months to process two days worth of payments!’ she told us. ‘The speed they are processing it at, it’s going to take forever.’

Ms Hirrill in fact calculated that at that rate, her payment would take approximately 10 years to be added to her state pension record, by which time she would be nearly 74, and seven years past state pension age.

The Government updated her record after we flagged her case.

‘I am sure if I owed tax they would be on to me’

Carol Hall (name changed) paid around £1,200 last April after speaking to Government staff, who advised her to buy class 2 contributions for the years 2006 to 2010, and to apply on the basis that she still lived in Australia although she has now moved to London.

After her record was not updated, the 59-year-old public servant contacted This is Money to say: ‘I was told at the time it might take a while for the payment to be reflected, but nearly nine months later does appear to be excessive.’

She added: ‘I am sure if I owed tax they would be on to me.’

After we intervened in her case, Ms Hall received a letter from HMRC saying she hadn’t need to buy the four top-up years staff had advised her to pay for after all.

This is because there is a reciprocal agreement between the UK and Australia, so contributions she paid in Australia before 2001 count towards her UK state pension.

Following our intervention she has received a refund, and advice on how to earn the two more qualifying years she needs for a full state pension.

Graham Ryan, 62, a former marketing director who lives in Finland, paid more than £1,100 for top-ups in March last year.

He told us: ‘Alas, I have heard no more from them. Despite three subsequent letters from me, copying proof of payment, I have still heard nothing more, and my pension forecast is unchanged. And it looks like I am running out of time as the deadline is looming.

‘Whether you can help me specifically or not, at least you can chalk me up as yet another “victim” of the silent treatment from the Pensions Office.’

Once This is Money intervened, the Government allocated his payment to Mr Ryan’s NI record. It did not explain why this had taken 10 months – but said it only received one proof of payment letter from him during that time, last October.

Hylton Bland, 57, paid nearly £5,800 for top-ups in installments in the first half of last year.

The IT project manager, who lives in New Zealand, told us: ‘I was in the UK in September last year and posted a follow-up letter to HMRC requesting an update and haven’t heard a word back from them.’

He added: ‘As I’m located in New Zealand I’m unable to call them at a suitable time.’

When we raised his case Mr Bland’s payment was processed, filling in a six-year gap in his state pension record. He is now clarifying with HMRC whether he should have bought class 2 rather than more expensive class 3 contributions.

Chris Morgan, 60, paid a total of around £950 in August and October last year after contacting HMRC, which told him how much he needed to pay and for which years.

The retired technical director for an airline, who lives in Gloucestershire, told us: ‘I did speak to HMRC at one point and they said the wait list was 21 weeks. Well it’s gone over that now that’s for sure.’

When we raised his case, it turned out Mr Morgan had been wrongly advised by HMRC, and he needed to pay a mixture of class two and class three contributions, which meant that his payment only covered five years of top-ups not seven as expected.

He has now received a partial refund, plus £100 from HMRC which it said was to apologise for the worry and distress caused by its mistakes and unreasonable delays.

What do DWP and HMRC say?

The Government provided the following further information about buying state pension top-ups.

– Applications to buy voluntary National Insurance Contributions are processed in date order.

– People whose vNICs applications were received but not processed before 5 April 2025 will not lose out. Their NI record will be updated, and their payment will be treated as paid on time.

– Everyone is recommended to create an online Personal Tax Account and download the HMRC app so that they can check their NI records. You can register for Government online services here.

– The easiest way to make a vNIC payment is online via GOV.UK but some people cannot – here is the list of exceptions and what to do if you are among them.

They are people who are:

o Already over state pension age

o Have been self-employed for any of the years they are trying to pay

o Have lived abroad for any of the years they are trying to pay

o Women who hold a valid Married Women’s Reduced Rate Election certificate

o Eligible to apply for Home Responsibilities Protection

o Have NI records that are currently being updated.

– People can make voluntary contributions if they live abroad by following this guidance

– People have until 5 April 2025 to maximise their State Pension by making voluntary NI contributions to fill any gaps in their NI record between 6 April 2006 and 5 April 2018, and they are encouraged to act now.

– After the 5 April 2025 deadline, people will only be able to make voluntary contributions for the previous six tax years.

– Since its launch in April, 4.3million people have used the online checking tool on GOV.UK to view their state pension forecast.

– More than 37,000 digital payments have been made via the online service, totalling around £35 million, since the launch.

– Some 51 per cent of people who made a payment topped up one year of their NI record. The average online payment is £1,835. The largest weekly state pension increase any of them achieved is £113.76.