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Glasgow Live
Glasgow Live
National
Levi Winchester & Alexander Smail

DWP error means millions have been receiving wrong pension for decades

Millions of retired people across the UK have gotten the wrong pension for decades as a result of 'mind-blowing' errors that date back to the 1990s.

The mix-up has lead to retirees not receiving the right amount of Graduated Retirement Benefit (GRB); a form of additional State Pension payment to top up your basic pension.

The payment is available to those who paid graduated contributions on their earnings between 1961 and 1975 as part of the graduated pension scheme.

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The amount of GRB you receive when you reach the State Pension age is based on how much of these contributions you made.

According to the BBC, pensioners have not received the correct uprate of GRB due to issues with the Pension Strategy Computer System.

As reported by The Mirror, Sir Steve Webb, who acted as Pensions Minister between 2010 and 2015, said that he was never made aware of the technical fault.

He stated: "The scale of these errors is truly mind-blowing.

"Although the absolute size of the errors is typically small, the number of people potentially affected is huge."

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) workers stated that the issue was 'too complicated to fix' in 2002.

In a new statement, the UK Government has confirmed it is looking into 'possible remedies'.

A DWP spokesperson commented: "A decision was made in 2002 not to make changes or corrections given the system's complexity and minimal impact on individuals, until a new computer system was introduced.

"The Department is assessing the scale of this issue and investigating potential remedies."

Most people were only wrongly paid to the tune of 1p or 2p each week, with all of the errors being under 10p

Official DWP research shared last month revealed it under paid State Pension claimants £540 million collectively, but also overpaid £110 million.

In most circumstances, the DWP will notice the error and issue you the money you are due as a single payment.

If you believe you have received less that money than you should have from the DWP, and they have not reached out or fixed the error, you can reach out to them.

Those who think they have received the wrong amount of State Pension should call the Pensions Service on 0800 731 0469.

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