Dear LPG,

I know that many people still remember some of those important numbers that we used to need to know off by heart, but how many of them do you really know?  Do you know your drivers’ license number or the number of your bank account without looking it up?  Could you rattle off your National Health number or your freedom pass number if you were asked?

And there is another number that can be quite illusive.  I am talking about your National Insurance number.   

When I was working, I knew exactly where to find it on my wage slip when I received it each month, and I know that it is written on my annual tax return letter.  It can be found on the annual letter that the Department of Works and Pensions send when we get the increase on our pensions and I do keep them all but I was asked what it was the other day and I realised that my letter filing system is not all it should be.  I spent well over an hour wading through my recently received letters without even making a dent in the pile.  The annual ones get well and truly lost and then every now and then my children come round and have a sort out for me.  That is when everything really deteriorates into true chaos.

I found my passport and tried phoning the passport office but they don’t keep a record of it.  I tried the tax office but they could not help either.  Then there was the National Insurance Helpline (tel: -0300 200 3500) who will help once they are satisfied that you are really you, they will be able to send it by post within the next 10 days.

But then I remembered exactly where you can find this number even if you have too many other letters to go through and you need it immediately.  I believe that all pensions now have to be paid out through a bank account and if you check your statement you will find it written next to the line where your state pension is paid in.  Your national insurance number should appear in the corresponding ‘Details’ column.  In my experience we tend to keep the statements separate to most of the other paperwork that is sent to us, and if we are desperate we can always pop off to the bank and get one of those mini statements.  It’s more than likely to be there too.

SU, Sydenham

(►►►)