HMRC alerts 210,000 individuals about possible £5,000 entitlement from DWP pension mishap

HMRC is reaching out to 210,000 individuals who might be entitled to a £5,000 windfall due to a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) State Pension blunder. The error predominantly affects women from their 60s and 70s who were claiming Child Benefit during the period of 1978 to 2000, as their National Insurance credits necessary for state pension entitlement weren't properly applied.

A DWP spokesperson commented: "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."

Before 2010, these credits were referred to as Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP), which helped parents and carers reduce the number of years needed to qualify for the state pension.

In cases where Child Benefit was claimed without including a National Insurance number on the application, HRP credits may have been incorrectly recorded. An estimated 210,000 people could be affected by this oversight, with 60,000 of those already passed away, leaving their families eligible to claim any outstanding amounts, reports Birmingham Live.#

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Pensioners are at the forefront of being contacted, with ministers having previously indicated that most individuals impacted by the error should be contacted by April next year. The typical compensation is in the region of £5,000, although some cases may see significantly higher sums.

Those eligible for redress include individuals who were claiming child benefit in their own name (rather than a spouse or partner's) and had a child under the age of 16 throughout the entire financial year in question. Additionally, to qualify, you must not have been paying the "reduced stamp" for married women.