A significant administrative failure at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is causing severe distress by incorrectly classifying living individuals as deceased, thereby blocking their access to crucial state pension services.
System Glitch Allocates Dead Strangers' NI Numbers
The core of the issue lies in HMRC's system erroneously allocating National Insurance (NI) numbers that previously belonged to strangers who have since died. This has resulted in living taxpayers being officially marked as "deceased" within government records.
One affected individual detailed their ordeal in a letter to the Guardian newspaper. They explained they had held an NI number since 1991 when they first moved to the UK to work. Upon returning for employment in 2015, HMRC claimed it could not locate their original number and issued a temporary one instead.
"It therefore now insists that I am dead and so will not process my pension top-up request," the taxpayer stated, highlighting the immediate and distressing consequence of the error.
Years of Frustration and 86-Week Wait Warning
The pursuit of a resolution has been a marathon of frustration. The individual reported spending countless hours on hold to HMRC helplines, sending letters, and even making visits to HMRC offices, all without success.
In a particularly stark revelation, they were recently informed they "might have to wait 86 weeks for a response" to their case. This excessive delay creates urgent problems for those needing to submit state pension forecast applications to plan for their retirement.
Following intervention from the national newspaper, HMRC offered the taxpayer £250 in compensation, a sum that does little to alleviate the anxiety caused by being wrongly declared dead and facing a blocked pension.
How to Check Your NI Record and Seek Help
This case underscores the critical importance of proactively checking your National Insurance record for errors. HMRC provides several digital tools, though their effectiveness in complex cases like this may be limited.
You can start by using HMRC's digital assistant to find information on checking your contributions or obtaining your employment history. If the automated service cannot resolve your issue, you can request to be transferred to a human adviser, if one is available.
Key actions you can take online include:
- Getting your National Insurance number online or requesting it by post.
- Applying for an NI number if you have never had one.
- Using the online service to see if you would benefit from paying voluntary contributions to fill gaps in your record.
- Checking how your State Pension forecast would change if you pay voluntary contributions and calculating the cost.
This systemic error serves as a serious warning to all UK taxpayers to verify their records well ahead of retirement planning, as rectifying HMRC mistakes can prove to be a protracted and deeply stressful battle.
