The Department of Work and Pensions has confirmed that thousands of pensioners could be owed a huge amount after being underpaid
Pensioners may be owed thousands by the Department of Work and Pensions. The DWP has underpaid a staggering £800 million following an error.
Latest figures released up until March 31, showed 130,948 underpayments. Now, £805 million is owed to pensioners following a process that started in 2021.
AJ Bell’s head of public policy, Rachel Vahey has claimed that the underpayments has since become one of the “biggest benefit scandals of modern times.”
In a statement, Ms Vahey said: “The DWP has obviously been hard at work over the last six months, identifying another 11,000 cases of underpayment, which has ratcheted the bill up from £736 million to a staggering £805 million today.
“But despite this progress, this appalling situation is not yet resolved. The DWP has confirmed they have completed the vast majority of reviews, but it will take another two years, to the end of March 2027, before all cases are resolved.”
Ms Vahey went on to add that it was “absolutely critical” that those who have been affected receive the money “as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
“Sadly, it will likely take years, if not decades,” she added.
In response to the ongoing incident, the Department for Work and Pensions said: “Our priority is ensuring pensioners receive the dignity and security they deserve in retirement and that state pension underpayment rates remain as low as possible.”
Those affected include married women on low state pensions, whose pension was not uplifted when their partner retired, people whose pension was not reassessed on the death of their spouse, people over 80 whose pension entitlements were not automatically increased.
The DWP claim they have “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.”
Meanwhile, consultancy firm LCP believe that some married women, widows and pensioners over the age of 80 are more likely to receive their payments without any enquiries.
But married women whose husband celebrated their 65th birthday before March 17, 2008 and women who are divorced after pension age should contact the DWP to have their pension “reassessed.”
