The MoneySavingExpert.com reader, known only as Cilla, had unknowingly been underpaid her state pension for 15 years
A fan of Martin Lewis has explained how she managed to reclaim more than £31,000 from HMRC after following his advice.
The MoneySavingExpert.com reader, known only as Cilla, had unknowingly been underpaid her state pension for 15 years. The issue relates to an old version of National Insurance credits, known as Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP).
HRP reduced the number of qualifying years you need on your National Insurance record to claim the state pension – however, an investigation found thousands of people, mainly women who had to take time off work to look after children or other family members, did not have the correct level of HRP applied to their National Insurance record.
It was revealed that Child Benefit claim forms submitted before 2000 did not include a National Insurance number – and this led to HRP not being correctly applied to National Insurance records.
You could be impacted by this error if you made a claim for Child Benefit between 1978 and 2000. Your National Insurance record is used to determine if you receive the full amount of state pension in later life.
As HRP was designed to reduce the number of years you need, missing out on this protection means you may have gaps in your National Insurance record and may not be getting the full amount of state pension that you’re entitled to.
HRP was replaced by National Insurance credits from 2010 onwards. MSE reader Cilla wrote into the money-saving website to explain her success at claiming backpay.
Her story was published in the latest MSE newsletter. She said: ” I’ve just received 15yrs’ back pay from HMRC of £31,674 for underpayment of my pension. Thank you.”
Latest figures from HMRC shows 370,000 women have been contacted regarding potential underpayments, with the Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ) paying back £7,859 on average per person, so far.
Of those who responded to the letters, HMRC identified 5,344 cases of underpayments between January 8 and September 30, 2024, totalling approximately £42million in arrears.
It’s believed 43,000 of those who are estimated to be affected by the historic error are now deceased, but their families can claim on their behalf. Those over pension age are being prioritised and contacted first by HMRC.
If you suspect you have missed out, you should first check your state pension and your National Insurance record. If there are gaps in your National Insurance record between 1978 to 2010, and you took time off work to care for someone during this time, then you may be missing HRP.
You can make a claim for missing HRP by using the online service on GOV.UK, or by filling out this form and posting it back to HMRC.