The latest figures published in November 2024 showed almost 120,000 women have been short-changed their state pension and are owed up to £11,905 each
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed it expects to complete all remaining state pension underpayment cases by the end of March 2027. The latest figures published in November 2024 showed almost 120,000 women have been short-changed their state pension and are owed up to £11,905 each.
This includes married women and widows, and those aged 80 and older, regardless of their marital status. Some mothers may also be affected if they took time off work to look after their children and claimed an older system of Child Benefit. The DWP has been working since 2021 to fix these errors.
Now, in a new update, DWP permanent secretary Peter Schofield has written to the Work and Pensions Committee (WPC) to confirm the department expects to have “resolved” all remaining cases by the end of March 2027. He also revealed that further updates will be shared as part of the Spring Forecast, which is due to take place tomorrow.
Mr Schofield said: “We completed the vast majority of reviews by the end of December 2024, as planned. The remaining cases are awaiting additional information from the customer or a third party. These cases are being actioned on receipt. The Department will publish the total cases reviewed, alongside AME spend, following the Spring Forecast on 26 March.
“Customers have up to two years to provide any additional information, so we can expect to clear the small number of remaining cases during 2025-26, and some missed conversions through to the end of 2026-27. We are dealing with these cases on receipt and anticipate all cases to be resolved by the end of March 2027.”
There are several circumstances that could mean you are being underpaid your state pension. You could be owed money if you’re a married woman who reached state pension age before April 2016, and you’re getting less than 60% of your husband’s basic state pension and he turned 65 after March 2008.
If you’re a widow and your pension wasn’t increased when your husband died, you may also have been underpaid the state pension. It is also possible that you may have been underpaid while your husband was still alive and you received less than 60% of his basic state pension.
Another group of people who are being urged to check if they’ve been underpaid are if you’re aged 80 or older, and you get a state pension of less than £85 a week – regardless of whether you’re married, widowed, divorced or single. Thousands of mums who took time out of work to look after children and claimed Child Benefit between 1978 and 2000 should also investigate if they’re received the correct state pension.
These people may be missing Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) on their National Insurance record – as a result, it could mean they’ve been underpaid the state pension and could be owed money. HPR reduced the number of qualifying years you need to claim the state pension for parents and carers.
Child Benefit claim forms submitted before 2000 did not include a National Insurance number and this means the relevant HRP may not have been carried across correctly in some cases. HRP was replaced by National Insurance credits in 2010.
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