State Pension back payments of up to £12,383 for older people before end of next year
22.12.2023 - 14:13
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
Thousands of older people, mostly women, could be due backdated State Pension underpayments worth nearly £12,400 before the end of 2024 as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) continues to identify and rectify historical administration errors. However, it's important to be aware that most people currently receiving the State Pension - some 12.6 million - are getting the right amount of money.
New figures published by the DWP on its progress of case reviews for possible underpayments, show that between January 11, 2021 and October 31, 2023, the checking process has identified 82,323 underpayments, owed a total of £497 million. The data also indicates that 595,964 State Pension awards have been reviewed, with average payouts ranging between £2,245 and £12,383.
Some married women, people in a civil partnership, widows and those over 80 may have been underpaid because their current State Pension payment does not include additional entitlements.
DWP confirmed earlier this year it is ‘on track’ to complete the exercise by the end of this year for married women (category BL) and those over 80 (category D). The planned end date for the State Pension LEAP ( Legal Entitlements and Administrative Practice) exercise is the end of 2024.
In 2020, the DWP became aware of a number of individuals who had not had their State Pension increased, in accordance with the law, automatically when this should have occurred. This prompted the Department to take action to investigate the extent of the problem.
There are three broad categories of State Pension underpayments:
The State Pension LEAP is the DWP’s largest underpayment correction exercise in progress. It has been established to identify where State Pension underpayments may have