DWP error could see thousands of state pensioners get back payments up to £8k

HMRC and DWP are besides moving a run to rise consciousness of the backdated payments. (Image: Getty)

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has sent 370,000 letters asking older radical to cheque their State Pension aft identifying missing periods wherever they should person been paid much than they were.

It said truthful far, it had identified 5,344 underpayments, with full arrears of astir £42 million.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said the mean backmost outgo was £7,859.

The contented dates backmost to 2022 erstwhile the DWP recovered that periods of Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) were missing.

This meant their National Insurance records were not updated.

GB News reported that the DWP and HMRC launched the Legal Entitlements and Administrative Practice (LEAP) programme to assistance place radical with missing HRP connected their State Pension records.

493,813 radical utilized an eligibility instrumentality connected GOV.UK, and the DWP has prioritised sending letters to radical successful their 60s and 70s who are closest to State Pension age.

Anyone who thinks they whitethorn beryllium impacted tin cheque online utilizing the self-identification instrumentality connected GOV.UK.

By the extremity of September past year, HMRC had processed 37,289 applications from radical implicit State Pension property and 5,428 from those nether 66. So far, the DWP has paid retired £42 cardinal successful backmost payments.

The DWP estimates that betwixt £300m and £1.5 cardinal successful State Pension payments were underpaid owed to issues with HRP.

HRP was fixed to those who had to look aft children oregon adults and was replaced by National Insurance (NI) credits connected April 6, 2010.

HMRC is utilizing NI records to find radical who whitethorn person been eligible for HRP betwixt 1978 and 2010 but don’t person it recorded; it is estimated that tens of thousands of radical are owed an mean of £5,000 successful backmost payments.

HMRC and DWP are besides moving a wider run to guarantee that everyone who mightiness beryllium eligible is alert of the corrections process.

Someone whitethorn person been entitled to HRP betwixt 1978 and 2010 if they conscionable immoderate of these conditions:

• They were claiming Child Benefit for a kid nether 16.
• They were caring for a kid with a spouse who claimed Child Benefit.
• They were receiving Income Support for caring for idiosyncratic who was sick oregon disabled.
• They were caring for a sick oregon disabled idiosyncratic who was claiming definite benefits.

Additionally, betwixt 2003 and 2010, individuals who were foster oregon kinship carers successful Scotland whitethorn besides person applied for HRP.

Some radical automatically qualified for HRP, including those:

• Receiving Child Benefit for a kid nether 16 and providing their National Insurance number.
• Receiving Income Support for caring for idiosyncratic sick oregon disabled without needing to registry for work.

HRP tin besides beryllium claimed for the years spent caring for a sick oregon disabled idiosyncratic if the attraction lasted astatine slightest 35 hours a week and the idiosyncratic received circumstantial benefits.

For those who received Carer’s Allowance, HRP is not needed arsenic National Insurance credits are automatically provided.