The Department for Work and Pensions admitted to Sandra Poynter her £8,500 state pension top-up had got lost then left her hanging for months.
The 69-year-old expat, who lives in Cyprus, had borrowed in order to make the payment last summer to boost her retirement income.
In January this year, she was appalled to be informed by a DWP staff member that it could still take a further eight months to sort out the problem and increase her state pension.
She then heard nothing more from the Government, until after she asked This is Money for help.
Mrs Poynter could not fathom how such a huge sum of her cash could have gone astray.
She had paid by bank transfer after receiving an email from the DWP with a rundown of which years she should buy to improve her pension.
During her series of calls to the DWP and HMRC, she was told at various times that her money was lost, that someone would be in touch in a week - which proved to be an empty promise - and at least twice that a track and trace would be put on her payment.
Sandra Poynter: 'When I call the DWP I just get given the run around and am told that they are looking into things and I just have to wait'
This is Money was deluged last year by readers complaining about state pension top-ups cash vanishing after a huge rush ahead of a deadline to fill older gaps in records.
A temporary deal to buy voluntary state pension top-ups going back to 2006/07 ran out in spring 2025, and now you can only backdate for the past six years.
Reader messages to us about long delays tailed away at around the end of last year.
But Mrs Poynter's experience suggests the backlog is still not cleared - scroll down to find out how to contact us if your cash is missing.
State pension top-ups are popular because they allow people who don't have a full state pension record - with 35 years required to get the full amount worth £12,500 a year - to make voluntary National Insurance contributions to boost their payouts.
This is Money has run a long campaign urging the Government to get a grip on the tortuous system, after hearing from many hundreds of readers over the years who are in despair about large sums of cash going missing.
Is it worth buying state pension top-ups?
Buying top-ups can give a generous boost to retirement income if you buy the correct years on your record.
This is Money's guide to buying state pension top-ups explains the cost and offers six golden rules on deciding if you should fill gaps by Steve Webb, our retirement columnist.
Expats recently saw a four-fold rise in how much they have to pay to top up.
We repeatedly hear accusations about the DWP and HMRC, which run the top-ups system between them, sending people from pillar to post in their different departments and blaming each other for problems.
Therefore, we have called for the creation of one state pension top-ups department, under one boss and staffed by people drawn from both DWP and HMRC who together can deal with the entire process.
Mrs Poynter contacted us last month, saying 'At this point I am feeling a bit desperate. I paid my National Insurance top up last July.
'After waiting a few months and a few phone calls to the DWP I discovered they had lost my payment.
'I did eventually have an email from them in January 2026 saying they would look into this matter, but still have heard nothing so I am not even sure if they have found my payment or if it is still lost.
'When I call the DWP I just get given the run around and am told that they are looking into things and I just have to wait, so at this point I am not sure what to do.'
After This is Money raised Mrs Poynter's case with DWP and HMRC, she received a backpayment worth nearly £3,200, a further £100 for the delay and worry caused to her, and the news her state pension would be hiked to almost £207 a week.
A Government spokesperson told us: 'We've written to Mrs Poynter to apologise profusely, offer her a redress payment and confirm her increased state pension entitlement.
'We've also confirmed she'll receive an arrears payment within three to five working days.'
The Government says it experienced a surge in applications ahead of the 5 April 2025 deadline to pay for voluntary National Insurance contributions dating back to 2006.
This and an increase in applications because of the tax year ending resulted in increased wait times, it explains.
More staff have been trained to process voluntary contribution payments from people with periods living overseas in order to bring down wait times, the Government adds.
Former Pensions Minister Steve Webb, who is now a partner at consultant LCP, says: 'It is shocking that someone can be left in the dark for nine months having handed over thousands of pounds to boost their pension.
'For those living outside the UK it can be especially hard to chase up when everything goes quiet, and it seems that there may be many other people in a similar situation still waiting for their top-ups to be applied to their National Insurance record.'
Webb, who is This is Money's retirement columnist, went on: 'It would be so much more efficient if a single person could process the added contribution and work out the new pension entitlement instead of passing the case on to another government department to join the back of their queue.'
Top-ups money gone missing?
If you have paid and heard nothing more, or are waiting for a refund, write and tell us your story at pensionquestions@thisismoney.co.uk.
Unfortunately we can't help everyone so you should also contact your MP. If you are an expat, you can contact the MP in the last constituency you lived in and still request help. Find your MP here.
Get help sorting your finances at retirement
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You have several options, including taking a tax-free lump sum, taking multiple one-off lump sums, drawing from your pension while remaining invested, or buying an annuity.
But it's a huge financial decision, which means it pays to get the right expertise. This is Money's recommended partners can help you make the right choices with your pension and retirement.