What to do if…
your retirement or pension payment is stopped for identity verification

What to do now

1. Confirm what has happened. Check your bank account for the usual payment date, any rejected or returned payment, and any different payment reference. Check your pension portal, app, email, and post for wording such as “identity verification”, “security check”, “proof of life”, “bank details mismatch”, or “account access”.

2. Work out who pays this pension.

   • State Pension in Great Britain: contact The Pension Service.
   • State Pension in Northern Ireland: contact the Northern Ireland Pension Centre.
   • State Pension while living abroad: contact the International Pension Centre.
   • Workplace pension, occupational pension, personal pension, or annuity: contact the scheme administrator, pension provider, or annuity provider using details from your latest statement, letter, secure portal, or the provider’s official website.

3. Ask the payer these questions and write down the answers.

   • “Is the payment stopped only for identity verification, or is there another issue?”
   • “Is there any problem with my bank details, address, date of birth, National Insurance number, or account access?”
   • “Exactly what documents or checks do you accept?”
   • “What is the secure way to submit them?”
   • “Can the missed payment be released once verification is complete, and what timeline should I expect?”

4. Submit only what they ask for, using the safest route they offer.

   • Prefer a secure portal, official app, or a clearly documented postal route.
   • If posting documents, ask whether certified copies are accepted.
   • Use tracked delivery if sending anything important by post.
   • Keep copies or photos of what you sent, the date sent, and any receipt or upload confirmation.

5. Say clearly if you need the money for essentials now. Tell the payer if the stopped payment affects food, rent, mortgage, care, medication, transport, or energy bills. Ask whether they can expedite the check, use an urgent or hardship process, or give you written confirmation that the delay is being investigated.

6. Check for scams calmly. This is a common point where scams can appear. Stop and re-contact the payer through official channels if anyone pressures you, asks for a fee, asks for remote access to your device, or sends a new link to “prove identity”. If you are dealing with a financial firm or adviser you did not choose, or you are unsure whether they are real, check the FCA Firm Checker before sharing details.

7. If you suspect impersonation, account takeover, or a pension scam, report it and tell the payer’s fraud team.

   • England, Wales, or Northern Ireland: report fraud or cyber crime through Report Fraud.
   • Scotland: report fraud to Police Scotland as a non-emergency, online, by phone, or in person, unless there is immediate danger. Ask the payer to mark your account for possible impersonation and to explain what extra security they can add.

8. If the payer is slow or unclear, start the complaint route in writing.

   • Ask for the formal complaints process and a written explanation of why the payment is stopped.
   • For many workplace, occupational, or personal pension complaints, the process may be called an internal dispute resolution procedure, or IDRP.
   • For many pension provider or scheme complaints, the provider has up to eight weeks to investigate and give a final response.
   • For State Pension, ask The Pension Service, the Northern Ireland Pension Centre, or the International Pension Centre how to make a formal complaint.
   • For workplace, occupational, or personal pension schemes, ask whether The Pensions Ombudsman is the right escalation route. The Pensions Ombudsman does not usually look at State Pension complaints.
   • For complaints about a regulated financial firm or adviser, ask whether the Financial Ombudsman Service route may apply.