DWP confirms £5,000 State Pension back payments have started for women affected by historical errors

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed that payments averaging around £5,000 have started being issued to women who have been underpaid their State Pension due to missing Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) and Universal Credit National Insurance (NI) issues. Average underpayments of £3,000 have also been identified for pensioners who have since died.

HRP was a scheme designed to help protect parents’ and carers’ entitlement to the State Pension and was replaced by NI credits from April 6, 2010. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is using NI records to identify as many people as possible who might have been entitled to HRP between 1978 and 2010 and have no HRP on their NI record.

After May 2000, it became mandatory to include a NI number on claims so people claiming after this point will not have been affected. DWP Pensions Minister Paul Maynard MP said that the “central estimate was around 187,000 cases who may have an underpayment of State Pension and for whom we expect to correct, with a total underpayment estimate of £1,043 million”.

Mr Maynard's comments came after Labour MP Dame Angela Eagle asked about the average value of State Pension underpayments being identified.

In his written response on Tuesday, the Pensions Minister said: “The exercise to correct National Insurance records for those individuals impacted by errors in their HRP record is underway.

“The HRP corrections exercise started with HMRC dispatching letters in late 2023. Cases subsequently notified from HMRC started being processed in DWP in early 2024.”

He continued: “In the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts 2022-2023, the central estimate value of an underpayment was £5,000 for alive cases above state pension age and £3,000 for deceased cases. We intend to publish an update on the exercise in this year’s Annual Report and Accounts.”

Mr Maynard also said that the DWP has corrected the Universal Credit data issue for the cases impacted for the tax years up to and including the tax year 2022/2023.

He explained: “This data has been shared with HMRC. As HMRC updates NI records, these updates are sent to DWP. Any State Pension entitlement will be reassessed, and any underpayment addressed accordingly.”

DWP has previously said that the corrections exercise should be completed before the end of 2025.

How to check if you are affected or make a claim

There are now nearly 12.7 million people across Great Britain claiming State Pension, including more than one million in Scotland. Of that overall total, 9.3 million are in receipt of the Basic State Pension and 3.4 million on the New State Pension.

The Basic State Pension is now worth up to £169.50 each week and the New State Pension up to £221.20.

A phone call to the pension service is the quickest way to find out if you have been underpaid your State Pension. The best number to call is 0800 731 0469 but full contact details can be found on the Gov.uk website here.