HMRC fails to pick up 83 million taxpayers calls — Liz Jarvis demands fast-track support for pensioners

Liz Jarvis, Liberal Democrat MP for Eastleigh, has demanded the creation of a new “Retiree Red Phone” hotline for pensioners, after bombshell new figures revealed that more than 80 million calls to HMRC have gone unanswered over the last decade.

Research by the House of Commons Library, commissioned by the party’s Trade and Investment Spokesperson Joshua Reynolds MP, shows that one in five calls to HMRC went unanswered in the last decade, leaving taxpayers across Hampshire without support. In 2024/25 alone, over 6 million calls went unanswered - more than 17,000 people every day on average unable to get help from the tax service.

The Liberal Democrats are warning that, with the state pension now just £22 away from the income tax threshold, thousands more retirees could soon be dragged into paying tax for the first time. But with HMRC’s customer service in crisis, many may struggle to get advice or information they desperately need

The party is calling for a dedicated “Retiree Red Phone” hotline to give pensioners a direct, reliable route to HMRC support, especially for those less comfortable using online systems.

The latest data shows that, in 2024/25, the average HMRC call waiting time was 18 minutes and 38 seconds, the second-longest in the past decade. In some years, pickup rates fell as low as 72%, meaning almost a third of callers never got through.

Liz Jarvis, Liberal Democrat MP for Eastleigh, said:

“It’s completely unacceptable that people across Eastleigh can’t get through to HMRC when they need help the most. Pensioners trying to make sense of their tax, small businesses trying to get payroll right, all are being left waiting on hold for hours, or simply cut off.

“After years of Conservative neglect, HMRC has been driven into the ground. Now, as more pensioners are pushed to the brink of paying income tax, they’re being left without support.

“The Government should act now and launch a ‘Retiree Red Phone’ hotline so pensioners can finally get through to someone who can help. People in Eastleigh deserve better than being left in the dark by a system that no longer works.”