The Department could owe thousands of pensioners money for Work and Pensions (DWP), a new Freedom of Information (FOT) has found.
The request revealed that by the end of July 2024, around 2000 people had received a letter from the DWP telling them they had been underpaid on their state pension.
However, to claim the missed cash, recipients of the letter must respond to the DWP or they could miss out.
If the group of 1859 people who received the letter do not respond then the underpayments will be left unclaimed, shares former pensions minister and partner at LCP Steve Webb, reports The Mirror.
Thousands of pensions could be owed more than £100,000 by DWP
It's understood that the underpayments followed an error by the DWP that saw three groups underpaid in their state pension.
This mostly affected women, including those who were married or widowed and who met the state pension age before April 2016.
The error has also affected those aged over 80 and is said to be caused by an issue linked to the partner's state pension entitlement.
The data shared in the FOI showed that many of the cases related to when a person died who was a widow, according to the DWP.
Did you know, your family, friend, neighbour or loved one could be eligible for an average £3,900 extra a year through Pension Credit? Find out more https://t.co/N9h7Dk3tDW
— Department for Work and Pensions (@DWPgovuk) August 20, 2024
To correct the error, the DWP sent out 1671 letters to the next of kin they believe you could be entitled to underpayments.
The Mirror also reported that a further 131 cases related to when a married woman who had a low pension did not automatically receive an increase when their husband retired.
57 of the total cases related to when an underpaid pension in the 80s.
The DWP has since confirmed that they will only work out the underpayment entitlement once they have received a reply.
If the DWP cannot find a next of kin, the underpaid amount will go to the government.
Discussing the pension underpayments, Steve Webb said: "We know that well over 100,000 people were underpaid state pensions and DWP has spent more than three years trying to track them down.
"In thousands of cases, the underpaid person is sadly no longer with us, but their heirs should still benefit from any underpayment.
"Although not all underpayments are large, in some cases people have received £100,000 or more, so the recipients of these letters could be sitting on a pensions goldmine.
"If you have received a letter from DWP about a potential underpayment to a loved one, I would urge you to respond as soon as possible."
