The family of a state pensioner have spoken of their frustation in their efforts to work out if she is owed back payments – despite being invited to apply by the DWP.
They said they feel they are going “round in circles” as they have phoned up several departments, been told to try online through the Government website, which then directed them back to the same phoneline.
The woman, 90, who has asked to remain anonymous, first received a letter in December 2023 from the DWP to tell her she may have previously been eligible for Home Responsibilities Protection, inviting her to apply.
Officials have been writing to thousands of women who may have been entitled to HRP but who were missing it from their National Insurance record, which could increase how much state pension they were entitled to.
The family sent in an application and she then got a letter in January this year to tell her she was entitled to HRP for the tax years between April 6, 1978 and April 5, 1983.
The letter directs those of state pension age visit the ‘Get your State Pension’ page on the gov.uk website, or to call the Pension Centre.
The family were unsure how to proceed and have since tried phoning the Pension Service, HMRC and the DWP to try and work out what to do next, but they said they feel like they have “hit a brick wall” with the process.
The woman’s son told Express.co.uk: “What astonishes me is I would imagine there’s thousands of women up and down the country that have had these letters.
“Half the time, when they’ve get through to these departments [on the phone], they haven’t got a clue what they’re talking about.
“Twice they’ve been promised a call back, and nobody has ever called back,” he claimed.
They eventually had a response from one of their calls instructing her to check her National Insurance record through Government Gateway.
Her son tried to set up an account for her but she didn’t have any suitable ID with a photograph on.
He followed a link for help with this but it just directed him to call one of the numbers they had tried before.
The son claimed: “What’s annoyed me about it is none of us had ever heard of this Home Responsibilities Protection. It was instigated by them but now we’re just being sent round in circles.
“We’ve rung three different departments. If this is a big deal, why they haven’t set up a team with their own telephone number is beyond me.”
A Government spokesperson told Express.co.uk: “We have identified and are correcting an issue related to the historical recording of Home Responsibilities Protection on the National Insurance records for people who first claimed Child Benefit before May 2000.
“Most people’s records will be unaffected, and we have an online tool to help people check whether they need to claim. HMRC began writing to those likely to be affected last autumn.
“State pension underpayment rates are very low but where errors do occur, we are committed to fixing them as quickly as possible.”
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