Elderly could be due backdated State Pension funds
Numerous older people, mostly women, in Lanarkshire could be due backdated State Pension underpayments worth nearly £12,400 before the end of this year as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) continues to identify and rectify historical administration errors.
However, most people currently receiving the State Pension are getting the right amount of money.
The latest figures published by the DWP on its progress of case reviews for possible underpayments show, between January 11, 2021, and October 31, 2023, the checking process has identified 82,323 underpayments, owed a total of £497 million.
The data also indicates 595,964 State Pension awards have been reviewed, with average payouts ranging between £2245 and £12,383.
Some married women, people in a civil partnership, widows and those over 80 may have been underpaid because their current State Pension payment does not include additional entitlements.
DWP confirmed last year it had been “on track”to complete the exercise by the end of 2023 for married women (category BL) and those over 80 (category D).
The planned end date for the State Pension LEAP ( Legal Entitlements and Administrative Practice) exercise is the end of 2024.
In 2020, the DWP became aware of a number of individuals who had not had their State Pension increased, in accordance with the law, automatically when this should have occurred.
This prompted the department to take action to investigate the extent of the problem.
There are three broad categories of State Pension underpayments: cases covered by the State Pension Underpayments (LEAP) exercise; Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) cases where HRP has not been recorded accurately on National Insurance records; and cases where National Insurance credits need to be updated for people who were claiming Universal Credit.
The State Pension LEAP is the DWP’s largest underpayment correction exercise in progress which has been established to identify where State Pension underpayments may have occurred.
The Basic State Pension is worth up to £156.20 each week and the New State Pension up to £203.85.
A phone call to the pension service on 0800 731 0469 is the quickest way to find out if you have been underpaid your State Pension; full contact details can be found on the GOV.UK website.