I’m 84 and don’t have a National Insurance number – can I get a state pension?

National Insurance number: Can I still get one though I’m 84?

I have read, with interest, your column regarding state pensions for the over 80s, even if they have not paid National Insurance subscriptions.

I am in a very strange position in that I do not possess a National Insurance number.

I am a British subject having been born of English parents, in 1939, in West Sussex. I was educated in Brighton, until the age of 18, when I went to a teacher training college.

Whilst there I married and, straightway after finishing my course, went to the Far East with my husband, an army officer. I had two children whilst there and returned to UK in 1961.

I was a stay at home mother and thus, as I had never worked, I was ineligible for an NI number. In my ignorance, I did not think I would need one!

After 10 years of marriage, I divorced my husband and went to live in Italy. I married an Italian and, once again, did not go out to work. We moved to the UK in 1990 and have lived here ever since.

My Italian husband pays UK as well as Italian taxes, but does not have an NI number either. I have tried many avenues to try to get an NI number but each time am told that if I am not looking to get a job, I cannot be given one!

My husband is now 91, and receives his Italian pension. I am 84 years old and find it unjust that I seem to be ineligible to claim even the basic pension. Does the 10 years spent with my first husband not count towards anything? I wonder if you can help.

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Steve Webb replies: The special pension arrangements for the over 80s are a little-known corner of the UK state pension system, and I am convinced that many thousands of people, such as yourself, are missing out on what they are entitled to.

Whereas most types of state pension depend on the National Insurance contributions that you have made (or in some cases the contributions of a spouse, late spouse or ex spouse), the rules for the over 80s are different.

Once you reach 80, and provided you satisfy some basic residency rules, you can claim a ‘non-contributory’ state pension, currently worth £93.60 per week (plus 25p for being over 80!).

This is known in the jargon as a ‘Category D’ pension. You can read the rules on who is eligible here: Over 80 pension: Eligibility.

Note that whilst the over 80s state pension is available to those who reached state pension age before 6 April 2016, it is not part of the new state pension system for those who have reached pension age since April 2016.

The problem you have encountered however is that even though you are not being paid on the basis of your National Insurance record (because this is a ‘non-contributory’ pension), you still need a National Insurance number in order to receive a pension.

Normally you would simply go online to apply for an NI number via the gov.uk website: Apply for a National Insurance number.

However, you have told me that you had great difficulties applying for a NI number, at one stage being told that you could only have a number if you were looking for work, and on another occasion being put through to a department that dealt with students.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time I have heard of people aged 80-plus having difficulty getting an NI number.

As you know, I have contacted the Department for Work Pensions on your behalf and, after a few false starts, we have now sorted out the issue relating to your NI number and you have put in a claim for your pension.

When DWP looked into your case, they said: ‘Our priority is ensuring everyone receives the financial support to which they are entitled.

‘We have contacted [name redacted] to begin the process of a state pension claim and allocate a National Insurance Number. We are sorry for the delay.’

I’m pleased to say that you have now been awarded a weekly pension in line with the rules and that this has been backdated by the maximum 12 months, giving you a lump sum of over £4,500 in state pension arrears.

I would encourage anyone aged 80+ who is not getting a pension, or is getting less than the figure I have quoted, to make sure that they apply for a Category D pension.

Frustratingly, it is not possible to download a claim form for the over 80s pension, so you have to contact the DWP’s Pension Service in order to obtain a form which you then post back.

For anyone who is already over 80 and does not have an NI number, DWP’s advice is not to wait but to get on with applying for the pension.

Provided that you satisfy the other rules (regarding age and residency) DWP will then initiate the process of obtaining an NI number for you.

Because brand new claims can only be backdated a maximum of 12 months, it is important to lodge a claim as soon as you can.