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<\/p>\nThousands of pensioners are set to receive back pay worth \u00a36,550 after a series of state pension underpayment errors.<\/p>\n
An estimated 170,000 elderly women have lost money over many years due to the DWP failing to make increases in their state pension.<\/p>\n
Two groups of women could be paid by the end of next year – they include married women who should have received an upgraded State Pension and those aged over 80.<\/p>\n
Some widows can also inherit large sums in basic and second state pension from their late husbands, but this depends on their ages and the strength of their late spouse’s National Insurance record.<\/p>\n
Over-80s who are residents in the UK should also be getting a ‘Category D’ pension of \u00a380.45 a week.<\/p>\n
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The Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed that deceased women who were underpaid will have arrears paid to their estate, so it will go to their beneficiaries.<\/p>\n
The above groups should be contacted by the DWP eventually as part of a \u2018correction exercise\u2019.<\/p>\n
Some divorced women may also have missed out, and women whose husbands reached state pension age before 17 March 2008, and they will need to make proactive claims to the DWP.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, the Express reported that an estimated 165,000 retirees have been underpaid \u00a31.2billion due to historical official errors.<\/p>\n
But Money Saving Expert reckons that the figure of those who have been underpaid could be higher than 230,000. And the website says that around 5,000 people could be due tens of thousands of pounds.<\/p>\n
The Martin Lewis-founded website is urging anyone who meets the criteria that appears at the end of this article to check whether they are due backpayments.<\/p>\n
One of the site’s users got in touch with the Government’s Pension Service and 10 days later received a cheque for \u00a322,350 with a further \u00a3645 in interest.<\/p>\n
Another reported receiving first a cheque for \u00a33,401 and later a second for \u00a38,996 after making enquiries.<\/p>\n
<\/em><\/p>\n The DWP puts the current figure to be paid out to people at \u00a3835million in total as the department reviews \u00a3678,00 cases to determine who is owed cash.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, the DWP claimed that it was on track to have paid out the money to the relevant parties by the end of this year.<\/p>\n Between \u00a3300million and \u00a31.5billion may be missing from pensioners’ pockets due to errors in the recording of Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP).<\/p>\n Thousands will be receiving letters throughout autumn concerning HRP underpayments due to missing information on National Insurance records.<\/p>\n The scheme was supposed to protect the State Pension entitlements of parents and carers but was replaced by National Insurance credits in 20210.<\/p>\n HMRC will use National Insurance records to find as many people as possible who may have been entitled to HRP from 1978 to 2010 but have no trace of HRP on their National Insurance records.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/23\/590x\/secondary\/state-pension-4896031.jpg?r=1698652801106\")
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