Hundreds of thousands of older married women are potentially missing out on bigger state pension - but won't be contacted by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
The DWP has already identified more than 230,000 women who are thought to have been underpaid their state pension following an IT blunder.
But a document supplied by the DWP to an appeal Tribunal last year reveals there are "low hundreds of thousands" of older married women the Government has "no plans" to contact.
The group affected are married women who are currently getting less than the standard 60% "married woman’s rate" of basic state pension, worth £85 per week, but whose husband is now aged 80 or over.
Until now, it was unclear how many women were in this particular situation, according to former pensions minister Steve Webb, now partner at LCP, who highlighted the document today.
These women could be entitled to a higher state pension, but only if they claim it - so they may have been missing out over the last 15 years.
Married women in this position after March 17, 2008, should have got an automatic uplift to the 60% rate when their husband drew his pension.
If this didn’t happen and you’ve been underpaid, the DWP should contact you.
Steve Webb says it is the “pre March 2008” women that have been “excluded from the correction exercise” because they need to claim.
But if you do claim, you will only get 12 months of backdated money. Some women in this group are challenging this rule with the Parliamentary Ombudsman.
Steve Webb claims the DWP argues there is no “error” in the cases because the women have not claimed what they are entitled to.
Steve Webb said: “It is shocking that the Government knows that hundreds of thousands of older married women could be on a higher pension but has done nothing to make them aware in the fifteen years or more since their husband retired.
“I would encourage any married woman with a husband over 80 and who has a basic pension under £85 per week to check if she may be entitled to a higher pension.”
A DWP spokesperson said: “Our priority is ensuring pensioners receive the financial support to which they are entitled and the action we are taking now will correct historical underpayments made by successive governments.
“As upheld by a court last year, married women whose husbands reached state pension age after them, but before March 17 2008, are required by law to make a claim for an uplift to their State Pension.”
There are other women outside of this group who have also been underpaid their state pension and some of these will be contacted by the DWP as part of its correction exercise.
Those affected can include married women, widows, and divorcees who hit state pension age before April 2016.
Women over 80 - regardless of whether they're married or not - may also be owed cash.
Some of the women will get an automatic payment worth £6,000 on average, although it can be more, depending on how much you've been underpaid and for how long by.
The following groups of people who should receive their state pension top-up automatically are:
- Women whose husband turned 65 on or after March 17, 2008, and are being paid less than 60% of their husband's basic state pension.
- Widow whose husband died after March 17, 2008, and were paid less than 60% of his state pension while he was alive
- Widow whose state pension didn't increase when their husband died.
- Women aged 80+ and - regardless of marital status - isn't being paid at least £85 a week in state pension
An online calculator has been set up by Steve Webb to help you see whether you've been underpaid.
