Martin Lewis urges older women to check for State…

Martin Lewis urges older women to check for State Pension historical underpayment worth thousands of pounds

Martin Lewis is urging older women claiming their State Pension to check if they are due an underpayment as a result of a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) systems error. The latest update from the DWP on the correction exercise looking into this historical error shows that between January 2021 and February 2023, some 46,716 pensioners were owed a total of £300.1 million.

In the latest edition of the MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE.com) newsletter, the consumer champion explained: “Hundreds of thousands of married or now divorced/widowed women on the 'old' State Pension (those who hit state pension age before 2017) are due big bucks due to pension system errors, mainly as they didn't get the cut of their husbands' pensions due”.

It is estimated that as many as 237,000 pensioners have been underpaid around £1.46 billion. The issue largely affects women who did not receive the State Pension payment they were entitled to under their husband’s National Insurance record, other women did not get uplifts to their weekly payments that they were entitled to when their husbands died.

Who might be due a State Pension refund?

Martin warned these women could be “missing out on £1,000s” in State Pension payments and while the correction exercise is ongoing, it will automatically refund any money owed, but there are some situations where you may have to make a claim.

This includes:

Married women - whose husband 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 husband 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

You can read the updated guide on claiming missing State Pension on MSE.com here.

How to check if you are affected or make a claim

A phone call to the pension service is the quickest way to find out if you are eligible for a State Pension refund. The best number to call is 0800 731 0469 but full contact details can be found on the Gov.uk website here.

Earlier this year, a DWP spokesperson said: “The action we are taking now will correct historical underpayments made by successive governments. We are fully committed to addressing these errors, not identified under previous governments, as quickly as possible.

“We have set up a dedicated team and devoted significant resources towards completing this, with further resources being allocated throughout 2023 to ensure pensioners receive the support to which they’re entitled.”

State Pension underpayment progress - February 2023

Payments made between January 2021 and February 2023 are listed below.

Married (Cat BL)

Cases reviewed: 82,225
Underpayments identified: 22,276
Average arrears: £6,630
Total amount repaid: £147.7 million

Widowed

Cases reviewed: 54,150
Underpayments identified: 9,928
Average arrears: £11,521
T otal amount repaid: £113.2 million

Over 80

Cases reviewed: 37,163
Underpayments identified: 14,512
Average arrears: £2,710
Total amount repaid: £39.3 million

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