UPDATE: |People on state pension warned HMRC could take weeks to update payments News

Some pensioners are likely still waiting for the change that they paid for weeks ago

Tens of thousands of people paid voluntary National Insurance contributions before the April 5 deadline in order to boost their state pension. However, many have now also been left waiting to reap the promised benefits.

The amount of state pension you receive is based on your National Insurance record, and if you have gaps you can voluntarily buy National Insurance contributions to plug it and boost your state pension forecast. Until April 5, you could do this for any holes you had in your record between 2006 and April 2019.

People who were able to pay their contributions just before the deadline likely haven’t seen a change yet even if they’re already claiming state pension. This is because the process to uprate your state pension through voluntary National Insurance goes through two different departments.

It starts with HMRC, who need to update your National Insurance record. Once that’s complete, it goes to the DWP who recalculates your state pension forecast and only then is it confirmed and updated.

BBC’s Money Box heard from one listener who sent in her contributions in December. While her record was updated swiftly by HMRC, she was left waiting more than 11 weeks for her state pension payments to be updated by the DWP.

HMRC told the programme that people who were trying to meet the April 5 deadline may have only got confirmation after it passed. It also warned that some cases could take up to eight weeks depending on the method of payment and how complex the person’s case is.

Sir Steve Webb explained that although it can be a frustrating delay, you won’t be missing out on cash if you’re affected. He noted that the government will backdate your payments based on when the money entered their system, not when they finished their calculation.

The former pensions minister noted that this seemingly convoluted process is nothing new. He said: “It’s different departments with different ministers and this is how it’s been for decades.”

He also emphasised that the DWP and Pension Service only deal with these cases once HMRC has updated your National Insurance record. So if your record hasn’t been updated yet, it’s HMRC you’ll need to chase but if it has then you’ll need to go to DWP for an update as Sir Steve noted: “Sometimes people are chasing the wrong end of the system.”

The state pension was also updated earlier this month but some people won’t receive the new rates until May. This is simply because most people get their payments every four weeks so if they got a payment on April 4, this would’ve been on the old rates and they will only get the new rates in their next payment on May 2.