230,000 women missing out on rightful state pension payments

State pension payments are often particularly important to retirees, and so many will be pleased to note they are increasing today. A 10.1 percent boost has been delivered by the triple lock, which used September 2022’s CPI inflation figure.

However, not everyone is receiving the amount to which they are entitled – and action may need to be taken.

It is thought more than 230,000 women have been underpaid their state pension and could be due back payments.

A DWP investigation uncovered a historic error relating to the older, basic state pension scheme.

Under this pension, women were able to claim a state pension based on the National Insurance record of their husband, ex-husband or deceased husband.

READ MORE: State pension increases by 10.1% from today – full new rates explained

Although the vast majority of these cases saw payments issued without error, there were some underpayments.

Experts have attributed this to computer errors, incorrect information inputted into people’s records, and the complexity of the older state pension system.

The DWP is now seeking to rectify the matter by combing through its records to find the women who have been affected.

Up until the end of March 2022, it had repaid some £106million to more than 15,000 women.

The sixth group are individuals who currently receive the correct pension but may have been underpaid while their spouse was still alive.

For example, certain widows whose spouses reached state pension age after March 17, 2008 may be in this position.

The final group are the families of people whose state pension was underpaid during their lifetime, where the individual has subsequently died.

In this case, the DWP is writing to the next of kin or executor to explain the next steps to rectify the matter. 

A DWP spokesperson previously told Express.co.uk: “The action we are taking now will correct historical underpayments made by successive Governments. We are fully committed to addressing these errors, not identified under previous Governments, as quickly as possible.

“We have set up a dedicated team and devoted significant resources towards completing this – alongside publishing GOV.UK guidance for next of kin – with further resources being allocated throughout 2023 towards the underpayments exercise.”