HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) recently confirmed over 370,000 letters have been dispatched to people receiving state pension who were impacted by a system error.
This glitch resulted in some people receiving less state pension than they were entitled to for several years, with many potentially unaware of the discrepancy.
The DWP is collaborating with HMRC to rectify this historical oversight, and efforts to reimburse the missed state pension payments have seen affected Brits receiving an average of £7,859.
The problem was first identified in 2022, and according to the Daily Record, the final repayments are expected to be completed within this year.
The issue revolves around Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP), a scheme designed to support those unable to work or contribute to National Insurance due to home responsibilities, such as being a stay-at-home parent or carer.
HRP was eventually superseded by National Insurance credits, but it was discovered that some people had their HRP incorrectly applied or were entirely missing it, leading to miscalculations in their state pension.
Those who were eligible for HRP between 1978 and 2010 can utilise the online checker to verify if their entitlement was correctly applied.
It’s believed that women in their 60s or 70s with adult children are the demographic most affected by this issue.
While the typical back payment for qualifying retirees has been just shy of £8,000, some individuals have received up to £11,000.
However, it’s crucial to understand that simply lacking HRP does not automatically qualify you for a back payment.
This is because some people became eligible and received other benefits due to being underpaid their state pension.
For instance, they may have received Pension Credit that topped up their income to the level it would have been had they received the correct amount of state pension.
To date, the DWP has paid out £42 million in arrears to rectify this historical error, and it estimates that up to £1.5 billion could have been underpaid due to the mistake. More details on HRP can be found on the Gov.uk website.
