DWP owes £6,000 to over 230,000 people born on certain dates who were underpaid
10.04.2024 - 17:49
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
The Department for Work and Pensions has released an update on the amount of money it owes to more than 230,000 people who are suspected of having been underpaid - with a new estimate of the average amount owed at £6,000 each.
The main group that is affected by this underpayment is women and widows who reached the State Pension age before April 2016. This is because of a historic problem where people were given the wrong pension after their partner died, or were given too small a pension on reaching their pension age.
Payments from the backpay scheme have so far ranged from £2245 to £12383, with an average payout of around £6000, with reasons for qualifying for money ranging from claiming pension before 2016 but receiving much less than your husband, to taking time off work at any point between 1978 and 2010 to care for children or someone with an illness.
READ MORE: The six DWP legacy benefits that could be stopped unless claimants act now
So far, the DWP has paid out more than £500 million to 97,000 pensioners who have missed out on the money that they are entitled, but there are still thousands of people who are unaware that they could be sitting on a nice cash boost. Consumer publication Which?has estimated that there is still £1 billion unclaimed.
The main three groups affected by the pension underpayment:
Though some of others are identified as having been underpaid, broadly, the groups that were historically underpaid are:
An online calculator has been set up to help you see whether you've been underpaid. Some of the groups of people who reached state pension age before April 2016 and who could be owed money include:
Married women who should have received an upgrade to a 60 per cent basic state pension when