04/25/2013

News / Birth certificate error makes British security officer oldest person in the world

A single-digit blunder on the birth certificate of a British security officer has officially made him the world’s oldest person, at 154. The man now intends to file a claim for the 90-years worth of pensions he believes the government owes him.

The birth certificate of Chris King, a security officer from the city of Kingston-upon-Hull in northeast England, states that he was born in 1858. In reality, King was born in 1958 and is 54 years old.

King was adopted when he was very young, which is why the mistake has only recently come to light. Nevertheless, his twin sister’s birth certificate indicates that she was born in 1958, 100 years after her brother.

He now intends to ask the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to backdate 90 years worth of pensions.

“This is a legally binding document, so I am going to approach the DWP to see about getting 90 years of pension backdated,” King was quoted by The Hull Daily Mail as saying. “I sat down and worked out I should be getting £375,000 ($577,500) and I'm going to fight to get this.”
King also sees a humorous side to his status as the oldest man in the world. For one thing, he isn’t sure how he will be able to fit 155 candles on his next birthday cake. King is also thinking about writing to the Queen so that she could send him a birthday card.
In the meantime, the DWP dismissed King’s attempt to claim a backdated pension.
“We would not entertain the idea of giving him a backdated pension,” a spokesperson for the DWP said. “It is clear he isn't that age and it is an obvious mistake.”
The DWP spokesperson also suggested that King go to his local register office to get the mistake in his birth certificate corrected.


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