The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been tirelessly rectifying historic state pension underpayments over the past three years. The department is on course to settle this issue by the close of the year, having already issued thousands of back payments to those unjustly short-changed since the blunder was unearthed in 2021.
To date, a significant number of the 119,050 affected pensioners have pocketed average reimbursements ranging from £2,202 to £11,905, depending on their specific category.
Those who reached state pension age before April 6, 2016, are the primary groups hit by the system error:
- Married couples or those in civil partnerships
- Widows
- Pensioners over 80
Much of the DWP’s efforts in recent years have centred around identifying those impacted and calculating their rightful back payments, reports the Express.
This mission was made more complex as some individuals were overcompensated with other benefits like Pension Credit due to the underpayments, meaning they weren’t actually being short-changed overall.
By now, all affected married women and pensioners over 80 should have been compensated, with the remaining few in the widow category slated to receive their dues ahead of 2025.
The system glitch was brought to light in 2021 through a Legal Entitlements and Administrative Practice exercise, or LEAP exercise, marking the largest underpayment correction in the department’s history, with a staggering £736 million owed.
However, the department is also tackling other state pension underpayments. The Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) scheme has impacted some individuals on the old state pension system due to a failure in accurately recording this protection on their National Insurance records.
Around 5,000 affected people have been pinpointed this year, with an average payout of £7,859. Those impacted by this, predominantly women who may have been eligible for HRP between 1978 and 2010, should have received a letter from HMRC.
Lastly, another group potentially hit by state pension underpayments are those claiming Universal Credit. Due to a glitch in the system between 2017-2018 and 2022-2023, individuals entitled to National Insurance credits through their benefit might not see these correctly reflected in their National Insurance record.
This could influence the amount of state pension they receive. The fastest way to check for underpayments is to ring the Pension Service on 0800 731 0469.