Knowing your National Insurance number is vital if you requested a callback about buying state pension top-ups from the Department of Work and Pensions.
You will need it in an initial call which involves a security check on your identity, according to feedback we have received from readers.
We understand the DWP is going to make two attempts to make contact, and if both fail will send a text advising people to ring it back within the month.
Once this preliminary call is out the way, staff will ring people for more in-depth conversations about buying top-ups.
One reader who asked their DWP caller about the likely timeframe for this was told there are 400,000 people waiting to get a call.
The DWP and HMRC – which run the state pension top-ups service between them – received a huge rush of calls and payments in the run-up to a crunch 5 April deadline.
Last week, we revealed reader reports of a six to eight-month backlog to process top-ups payments.
DWP callback service: Launched ahead of crunch top-ups deadline to handle the volume of calls
A deal to buy voluntary state National Insurance contributions going back to 2006/07 has now ended – although you can still backdate for the past six years.
The DWP launched a callback service, which is now closed, to handle the volume of enquiries.
If you signed up you should be contacted to discuss your situation, and still be able to buy top-ups for earlier years.
The DWP says it is sending text messages to people a day ahead of calls to alert them in advance.
But This is Money readers made no mention to us of getting a text, and one says she was contacted out of the blue.
She then failed the security check because she was away from home and didn’t remember her NI number off the top of her head.
‘I received my call back last week, with no prior notification. I was in the middle of the park, with no documents at my disposal, so I was unable to answer the questions put to me by the caller,’ she says.
‘I was informed that they would only make two attempts to contact me and no more, that being the first attempt.
‘Next time they call I could be driving, dealing with an emergency or any of the other life events that prevent someone from answering their phone. I find the situation totally ridiculous, inefficient and a waste of time and money.
‘As a result of this system I might end up not knowing whether I should top up my National Insurance or not.’
Another reader says he was driving at the time he received the call, and pulled over to take it.
He passed the security check, but adds: ‘The caller said that someone will call you back very shortly to explain if I can pay for the previous years. I asked will this be today or tomorrow. Reply was today very shortly.
‘I am still waiting for this callback, getting on for nearly two weeks. I topped up one of my years nearly two years ago and it is still not showing on my record.
‘I pity these people who have paid them thousands of pounds and it has just disappeared. The DWP and HMRC are an utter disgrace. That is putting it mildly. They are a shambles.’
A reader who received a call and passed the security check in mid-April says she was told she would get a follow-up call, but no timing was given and so far she has heard nothing more.
Another reader says she missed the first call, and during the second couldn’t remember one of the digits of her NI number, so she has tried calling back the DWP.
A DWP spokesperson says: ‘We introduced an online service for individuals to register their interest and request a callback to ensure that everyone had the opportunity to boost their state pension.
‘We have doubled the number of staff to process callback requests alongside sending SMS messages to alert individuals the day before we are due to call them to boost numbers answering the phone and processing rates.’
Former Pensions Minister Steve Webb, who is This is Money’s retirement columnist, says: ‘The idea of a callback service to help deal with the surge in demand before the deadline on top-ups was a sensible approach.
‘But it now needs to be delivered in a customer-friendly way. Ringing people up out of the blue and expecting them to remember all of their personal details is far from ideal.’
Webb, who is a partner at LCP, adds: ‘The right to pay back historic years of contributions is very important to some people and it should not be arbitrarily taken away because someone missed phone calls or couldn’t immediately remember their NI number.’
What to do if you are waiting for a callback
– Memorise your National Insurance number (only write it down and keep it with you if you believe this is safe).
– Make a list of the missing years on your National Insurance record you think you might want to fill and carry it with you in case you receive a call from the DWP while out and about.
– Write out a list of your questions about buying top-ups and also keep this with you so you don’t forget to ask anything important.
– Try to always have a pen and paper handy so you can take down notes, the sum you might need to pay, and payment details for HMRC.
– If you don’t receive sufficient information to go ahead and buy top-ups after the call, ask how many further callbacks you will receive before the deal to purchase years going back to 2006 will lapse.
– Find out if there are any deadlines for you to take action.
– Before you ring off, make sure you are clear on the next steps to be taken, either by you – especially if there is a deadline – or on the DWP or HMRC side.
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