The Department for Work and Pensions has sent letters to thousands of people informing them they could be owed substantial sums in underpaid state pensions. A Freedom of Information request revealed that nearly 2,000 individuals received these letters by the end of July this year. The underpayments primarily affected women due to a historic DWP error.
Former pensions minister Steve Webb warned that if the 1,859 people who received letters do not respond, their underpayments will remain unclaimed. Those affected include married women and widows who reached state pension age before April 2016, as well as individuals over 80, regardless of marital status. Many cases involve the deaths of spouses, prompting the DWP to believe the surviving partner may have been underpaid.
The data shows 1,671 letters were sent to next of kin, 131 cases involved married women whose pensions did not increase as expected when their husbands retired, and 57 cases involved individuals over 80. The DWP confirmed they only calculate the underpayment entitlement once they receive a reply to their letter.
DWP reveals state pension errors
If a next of kin cannot be traced, any underpaid amount will be retained by the Government. Steve Webb noted that underpayment payouts in the past have ranged from a few thousand pounds to over £100,000. Therefore, some individuals could be owed life-changing amounts of money.
“These letters often arrive out of the blue, and many may not realize the importance of responding,” said Steve Webb. “We know that well over 100,000 people were underpaid state pensions and the DWP has spent more than three years trying to track them down. In thousands of cases, the underpaid person is sadly no longer with us, but their heirs should still benefit from any underpayment.
Although not all underpayments are large, some cases have seen people receive £100,000 or more. If you have received a letter from the DWP about a potential underpayment to a loved one, I urge you to respond as soon as possible.”
Responding promptly to any DWP correspondence is crucial to reclaim owed amounts. Those who believe they may be affected should review their pension records to ensure they are not missing out on entitlements that could significantly impact their financial situation.
- Telegraph.”Thousands could be sitting on six-figure ‘pension goldmine’”.
- Mirror.”Thousands sent DWP letter telling them they could be owed more than £100,000 – act now”.
- BirminghamMail.”Many UK households due £6,000 but ‘not everyone guaranteed automatic payment'”.