Some pensioners who have paid thousands of pounds to top up their state pension have been told they must wait months to see any increase in their payments
07:57, 13 May 2025Updated 09:25, 13 May 2025
Some pensioners who have paid thousands of pounds to top up their state pension have been told they must wait months to see any increase in their payments
Pensioners who have paid to boost their National Insurance records are being warned they might face a lengthy wait to see their state pension increase. Some retirees, having forked out significant sums, are now being informed that they must simply join the queue.
Those who rushed to top up their state pension before the April 5 deadline are potentially looking at delays of six to eight months before their payments rise. A backlog in processing these top-ups has emerged, as reported by affected pensioners.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), however, refutes such claims, asserting that older customers are being given priority. Nonetheless, pension experts have criticised the government for not foreseeing the spike in demand.
Read more: Pensioners alerted over £300 boost
Sharon Gray, a retired civil servant from Herefordshire, who paid £6,000 in March to enhance her state pension, spoke of her frustration. After reaching out to HMRC and the DWP regarding the increase in her pension, she was told by an employee about the long waiting period of up to six to eight months.
She shared with This is Money: “We are just working our way through them and there is nothing you can do. You have to wait.”
Gray also noted that there seemed to be no additional staff assigned by the DWP to tackle the growing pile of top-up payments. Two other readers who made top-up purchases in November – one of whom will soon turn 66 – also shared their experiences.
One pensioner expressed his concerns about not receiving his state pension later this month, stating that if they didn’t receive the increase they had paid for, they would struggle to pay bills. The situation has caused worry among many, especially given the significant publicity around the April 5 deadline for buying voluntary National Insurance contributions dating back to 2006/07.
However, a DWP spokesperson firmly rejected these claims about lengthy delays, stating: “We do not recognise these claims and we are prioritising customers over state pension age so they can receive the immediate support to which they are entitled. We have doubled the number of staff on the team and are working at pace to process payments to customers.”