Thousands of Britons are in for a significant state pension boost due to a historic Government error but who is eligible and how do you claim?
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has underpaid around £800million in state pension payments in a blow to retiree finances.
According to the latest DWP figures, the department identified 130,948 underpayments as of March 31.
As a result, a total of £805m is owed to pensioners, as part of a checking process which began in 2021.
Britons are being impacted by a state pension “scandal”
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Who is impacted by the state pension underpayment error?
The following groups of people are expected to have been underpaid by the DWP:
- Married women on low state pensions whose pension was not automatically uplifted when their partner retired (owed an estimated average of £5,553)
- People whose pension was not automatically reassessed on the death of their spouse (owed an estimated average of £11,725)
- Over-80s whose state pension entitlements were not automatically increased (owed an estimated average of £2,203).
How to find out if you have been underpaid
According to the DWP, the department 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”.
Consultancy firm LCP notes that some married women, widows and pensioners over the age of 80 should receive any payments without having to take action.
However, the firm states: “Other groups, such as married women whose husband turned 65 before March 17, 2008, and women who divorced after pension age, will still need to contact the DWP if they want their pension to be reassessed”.
On it website, LCP has a calculator to help those eligible determine how much they could be entitled to.
How to claim your state pension underpayment
Britons who think they have been underpaid should contact the Government’s pension service directly.
Rachel Vahey, the head of public policy at AJ Bell, described the DWP’s error as “one of the biggest benefit scandals of modern times”.
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Britons are worried about state pension underpayments
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She added: “It is absolutely critical all those affected by this scandal receive the money they are owed as quickly and efficiently as possible”.
Sir Steve Webb, a partner at LCP, said: “The remaining corrections need to be handled as a matter of urgency. This should never be allowed to happen again.
In a statement, the DWP 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.”
