British taxpayers are paying for thousands of foreigners’ “cut-price” state pensions thanks to a loophole promoted on TikTok and YouTube.
The end of the tax year saw at least 138,000 people top up their state pension, with a surge in the run-up to the deadline, but HMRC does not know how many of these were not British.
The Times has uncovered videos on TikTok and YouTube encouraging Irish and Australian citizens to pay in before the deadline, calling it a “no-brainer”.
Foreign citizens who have lived in the UK for three years can top up their national insurance contributions to qualify for the UK state pension, even if they have never worked in Britain or paid income tax.
The Irish National Pension Helpline website told potential claimants that purchasing the maximum pension would offer estimated lifetime earnings of £192,000, a return on investment of 5,599 per cent.
“Do not miss this once in a lifetime investment opportunity”, the page reads, “no traditional PRSA [Personal Retirement Savings Account] or company pension in Ireland could expect to match this level of return”.
An advice page targeted at Australians says the UK government’s provision “almost sounds like a scam — too good to be true”.
“Imagine paying a few thousand dollars and securing yourself a steady pension of a few hundred dollars a week for your whole retirement,” the page on the SBS News website reads.
The state pension is one of the largest items of government expenditure in the UK, costing the taxpayer more than £140 billion, about the same as the education and defence budgets combined.
Workers must make 35 years of national insurance contributions to be eligible for the full UK state pension, but they can claim part of the pension if they reach ten.
Information on pension rates shared by the Malone Financial TikTok channel
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Since 2013, HM Revenue and Customs has allowed people to pay to backfill missed years. Up until April 5 2025, the government allowed purchases of up to 18 qualifying years in one go. From the beginning of the new tax year this has been pared back to six.
An individual purchasing 15 missing years might spend as little as £2,730 in return for an annual inflation-resistant income of £5,100 per year, courtesy of the British taxpayer.
An equivalent annuity for a healthy person would cost 27 times more — around £75,000, according to pension providers.
HMRC admitted, in response to a freedom of information request filed by the New Statesman, it was not able to say how many of the individuals topping up their national insurance contributions were foreign citizens.
But a government spokesperson said the surge in payments before April 5 “relate only to years people lived in the UK”.
Payments for periods abroad are paid for using a different route and HMRC was unable to provide the figure to The Times on Friday.
One in 12 state pension recipients, or 8.5 per cent, live overseas, the department added.
The abundance of advice videos for foreigners would suggest foreign workers are making use of the loophole.
A TikTok channel called Malone Financial advised his 11,000 followers that “the best part” was that adding a qualifying year costs as little as £164, and entitles you to £275 per year of state pension “until you die”.
He said it was a “no-brainer” before adding: “The UK state pension can be claimed in addition to the Irish state pension”
Malone Financial told Irish viewers how to claim
In response to the video, one viewer commented: “This is just amazing, your channel is like hitting a gold mine,” while three others said they had “a letter filled out for tomorrow’s post”.
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Another said: “I have used the content of your video to apply for a UK pension, which I never knew I would have been entitled to.”
John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance: “Brits will be outraged that people with minimal ties to the UK can buy cut-price pensions funded by taxpayers.
“This loophole is being openly marketed abroad as a cheap route to generous British benefits, while HMRC claims it can’t track who’s cashing in.
“The government must get a grip and put a stop to this exploitation of the system.”
