Send a certified copy of your statutory declaration with your doctor’s letter together with a letter from yourself quoting your National Insurance (NI) number to the central office of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) as follows:

• Department of Social Security,
  Special Section D, Room 105H,
  Contributions Agency Central Operations,
  Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE98 1YX.
  Telephone: 0191 225 7123

The DWP will acknowledge your change of name and style of address and reply in a standard letter stating that in effect that the change will have no effect to any legal entitlement to state benefits, especially the state pension. You may also receive a plastic NI numbercard which will show the new title and name but there will be nothing on the card to indicate any change of name or previous name.

Note that you when you inform the DWP of your change of name, you should also inform the Inland Revenue at the same time.

Pensions

The entitlement to a state pension, following decision CP/76 of the National Insurance Commissioner is that a transvestite or a transsexual person’s right to a state pension will be by reference to your original biological sex. This follows the Corbett doctrine and means that if were born a man you will receive your pension at 65 and if you were born a woman you will receive it at 60. The fact that the retirement age for state pensions for both men and woman are now being equalised by the year 2020 will then make no difference to entitlements or retirement ages.

National Insurance number

The national insurance number will not be changed by the DWP and the central office of the DWP in Newcastle will record your previous legal name as well as your new one and may be viewed on the DCI computer by any authorised employee of the DWPS. All employees of the DSS are bound to keep information confidential unless required by the courts or the police through special section A. The DWP central index of your National Insurance number will also be annotated and flagged that you are to be treated as male for some purposes and female for others.

Jobseeker’s Allowance (unemployment benefit)

A transsexual person is entitled to Jobseeker’s Allowance in the same way that every other person is, and will also be treated in the same way for the payment of national insurance contributions. If you are unemployed then the Unemployment benefit office and Job centre will also be aware of your previous details and will require to be informed of your change of status. Employees of the unemployment benefit office are again bound by confidentiality.