Tens of thousands of people have now been identified as having been underpaid more than £800m in their state pensions because of historical government errors.
New figures show that as of 31 March, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) had identified 130,948 underpayments, with a total £805m owed, as part of a checking process which began in 2021.
Rachel Vahey, head of public policy at AJ Bell, said it is “one of the biggest benefit scandals of modern times” and “it is absolutely critical all those affected by this scandal receive the money they are owed as quickly and efficiently as possible”.
Those affected by the errors include:
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married women on low state pensions whose pension was not automatically uplifted when their partner retired (owed an average of £5,553)
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people whose pension was not automatically reassessed on the death of their spouse (owed an average of £11,725)
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over-80s whose state pension entitlements were not automatically increased (owed an average of £2,203)
Here, Yahoo News UK sets out how to check if you’re eligible for state pension back payments.
Who is entitled to the state pension?
Anyone who has reached state pension age: which can be calculated on the government’s website here.
The amount of state pension a person receives depends on how many “qualifying” years of national insurance payments they have.
How to find out if you’ve been underpaid
The DWP has said it has “completed the vast majority of cases in the exercise as planned, with a small number of outstanding cases due to further documentation needed from the customer”.
Lane Clark & Peacock, which specialises in pensions advice, says: “Some married women, widows and those aged over 80 should get payments without having to take any action.
“But other groups, such as married women whose husband turned 65 before 17 March, 2008, and women who divorced after pension age, will still need to contact the DWP if they want their pension to be reassessed.”
It has a calculator for married women to see if they are being underpaid, as well as information for the other groups of people, on its website here.
How to claim back money you’re owed
Claimants who think they have been underpaid should contact the government’s pension service directly. Its contact details can be found here.
