A £1.46billion mistake from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) could see many pensioners pocket thousands of pounds in back payments. More than 230,000 pensioners are thought to have been underpaid the State Pension, with one woman winning a £60,000 lump sum..
The claims average £6,000 per case according to forecasts, but this amount could be higher or lower depending on each person's individual circumstances. Coventry Live reports. Those being urged to check if they are eligible include women who hit the State Pension Age before April 2016, they could include widows, divorcees and those who rely on their partner's pension contributions for some of their pension entitlement
All women over 80 are also encouraged to check whether they could be entitled to the back payments regardless of their marital status, with millions of pounds still waiting to be claimed.. Gareth Davies, the head of the National Audit Office, said: "The impact of the underpayment of State Pension on those pensioners affected is significant. It is vital that the Department for Work and Pensions corrects past underpayments and implements changes to prevent similar problems in future."
Anyone who thinks they may be eligible can contact the Pension Service for further advice on 0800 731 7898, or by textphone 0800 731 7339.
Pensioners can also use the LCP tool to check whether they could be owed money, a private service backed by former Pensions Minister Sir Steve Webb. The Government said that if you are owed back payments you will be contacted by DWP to receive the money in due course, and the department added in November that it was speeding up the process this year by continuing to allocate more workers to address the issue.
A DWP spokesman 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.."
