Woman paid £9,900 to buy 12 years of National Insurance credits and waited 18 months for state pension to be uprated
Julie Stewart transferred the lump sum to fill gaps under a temporary top‑up offer but did not see her weekly payment increased or receive arrears until a newspaper intervened; DWP and HMRC apologise for delays
A 67‑year‑old woman who borrowed £9,900 from her daughter to buy 12 years of missing National Insurance (NI) contributions says she spent 18 months in limbo while the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) processed her claim — a delay that left her uncertain about retirement income until a newspaper raised the case.
Julie Stewart, who moved to France in 2002 and worked for UK and French employers, discovered she had gaps in her NI record as she approached state pension age and applied to buy back years under a temporary government arrangement that allowed purchases dating back to 2006. She submitted a form to the DWP’s International Pension Centre in November 2023 because she lived abroad and therefore could not use the online check tool.
Stewart said she had been on track to receive about £134 a week when she reached state pension age in November 2023, well below the full entitlement, and that after officials accepted her top‑up she transferred £9,900 at the end of January to buy 12 years of NI credits. Despite making the payment before the special deal’s April deadline, the state pension shown on her online record remained unchanged for months and the paid years were still listed as “Year not full.”
She said repeated telephone checks produced conflicting information. In July 2024 an online progress report had indicated her file was “Completed.” HMRC told her it had sent papers to the International Pension Centre, but when she contacted the centre staff said they had not received the paperwork and that it would take a further 20 weeks to process. After five months of delay she approached the Money Mail section of the Daily Mail for help; the paper says it then raised the case with DWP and HMRC.
Following that intervention, Stewart’s state pension was uprated to £230.25 a week and she received about £1,550 in arrears, the increase arriving in time for a planned trip to the UK. “The extra amount goes towards me fully paying my way, sharing the bills,” she said. “This is the financial independence that was missing in my life.” She added that her daughter had given the loan interest‑free and that she planned to put at least €100 a month into savings to begin repaying it.
The experience mirrors complaints from other older savers who paid to top up state pensions but saw cash transferred to government coffers without timely confirmation or adjustment of their records. Government sources and consumer outlets report that friction between HMRC and the DWP can allow individual cases to “fall through the cracks,” leaving claimants without the retirement income they expected.
Under normal rules a full new state pension requires 35 qualifying years of NI contributions. Each missing year reduces entitlement by 1/35th of the full amount. For 2024/25, the cost to buy a full worked year if employed was £907.40, which the industry frames against the state pension figures: a one‑year top‑up typically adds about £6.58 a week — roughly £342 a year — meaning many purchasers recoup the outlay within a few years. The DWP temporarily allowed purchases of years back to 2006 during a limited‑time offer that expired in April.
Roughly 750,000 people reach state pension age each year, and independent estimates suggest about 100,000 of them have gaps that could be filled by buying years. But not everyone can use the government’s automated check tool; those already past state pension age, those who were self‑employed in the years they want to buy, and people who lived abroad in those years must apply through the DWP’s International Pension Centre and may face longer processing times.
The DWP and HMRC issued a joint statement to the newspaper acknowledging shortcomings. “We apologise to those who have not received the level of service they should have in these cases,” the statement said. “When errors are made, we are committed to resolving them as quickly as possible.” The agencies did not provide a figure for how many top‑up payments remain unresolved.
Consumer groups and advisers say claimants should check their NI records well before reaching state pension age and seek confirmation from officials before transferring sums. The government website now offers an online check tool for many people, but its use is restricted in specific circumstances, including for those living abroad.
Cases such as Stewart’s highlight administrative risks when responsibilities are split across departments and when temporary measures create deadline pressure. After the intervention in her case, Stewart said the resolution restored “personal financial independence” she feared losing. The DWP has published guidance for those who need help or who believe a top‑up purchase has not been recorded, and HMRC continues to handle the NI records updates required to reflect purchased years.
People with unresolved top‑up payments or queries have sought assistance from consumer press and their Members of Parliament to press the departments for action, saying direct lines of communication and formal complaints have sometimes failed to produce timely outcomes.
The case adds to calls from advocates for clearer processes and tighter timetables when purchased NI years affect immediate retirement entitlement. Officials say they aim to reduce delays, while advisers remind people that, when the circumstances allow, buying qualifying years can be cost‑effective but requires careful verification and follow‑up to ensure records are updated and payments commence.