The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced plans to correct state pension underpayments for thousands of pensioners across the country. It is thought that women have been disproportionately affected with 230,000 believed to be underpaid and due a large payout – with the average amount being more than £6,000, as per Money Saving Expert.
Discover our latest podcast
Married women
Two groups of women are expected to be paid before the end of next year, including married women who ought to have received an Upgraded State Pension and also those aged over 80. The DWP has stated that these two groups should be completed in 2023 but it could go on until late 2024.
Commenting on the situation, Pensions Minister Laura Trott MP said, as per TheDaily Express:
As stated in DWP’s Annual Report and Accounts 2022, the Department expects to complete the exercise for CAT BL and CAT D by the end of 2023.
For missed conversion cases, we aim to complete these as soon as we can but for this group, the exercise could run through to late 2024.
The Government is fully committed to ensuring that any historical errors, unaddressed by previous Governments, are put right as quickly as possible.
What to do
Some groups won’t have their pensions topped up automatically. If you are in any of the following groups then you should check on the government’s website for further guidance, as per The Daily Express:
- Married women whose husbands turned 65 before March 17, 2008, and who have never claimed an uplift to the 60% rate
- Widows whose pension was not increased when their husbands died
- Widows whose pension is now correct, but who think they may have been underpaid while their late husband was still alive, particularly if he reached the age of 65 after March 17, 2008
- Over-80s who are receiving a basic State Pension of less than £80.45
- Widowers and heirs of married women, where the woman has now died but was underpaid state pension during her lifetime
- Divorced women, particularly those who divorced after retirement, to check that they are benefiting from the contributions of their ex-husband
Alternatively, it is possible to call the pension service on 0800 731 0469, if you believe you have been affected.
Sources used:
- The Daily Express 'Thousands of pensioners could receive £6,900 in back payments - list of groups affected'
- Money Saving Expert 'Are you one of 100,000+ women missing outon£1,000s of state pension?'
- Gov.uk 'Request information about underpaid State Pension for someone who has died'
