As part of its cost saving programme, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has announced that it is to stop issuing plastic national insurance cards.
The cards notify taxpayers of their NIC number.
Instead, as from next year, the tax authority will send out letters bearing written confirmation of the numbers.
Scrapping the plastic cards will save somewhere in the region of £1 million annually.
The change came from suggestions made on the Spending Challenge website and has been accepted by Treasury ministers.
Although the cards are to be axed, HMRC will continue to write to taxpayers who request confirmation of their NIC numbers