UK Government hints at more State Pension compensation decision delays for women born in the 1950s

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) recently published a new update on progress of the State Pension Underpayments Legal Entitlements and Administrative Practice (LEAP) exercise. The latest figures show that 97,016 people over State Pension age - mostly women - have received back payments averaging £2,192, £5,713 and £12,486, depending on their pension category.

New research from retirement specialist Just Group suggests that more than a third of retirees did not check their State Pension forecast before they retired despite 1.2 million households relying on the State Pension as their primary source of income in retirement.

An online petition calling for a public inquiry to be held into changes made to the State Pension age for women born in the 1950s has passed the 10,000 signature threshold and is now entitled to a written response from the UK Government.

Sir Stephen Timms, chairman of the Work and Pensions Committee, has written to Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride, following an oral evidence session last week with the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) Campaign and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) on the findings in its final report into changes made to the State Pension age for millions of women born in the 1950s.

More than 59,500 people have signed an online petition calling for a ‘universal’ weekly State Pension payment of nearly £550 to bring into line with the National Living Wage. Petition creator Michael Thompson also suggests making the option to claim State Pension available to everyone from the age of 60 - six years lower than the current official age of retirement of 66.

The Scottish Government will replace Winter Fuel Payments with a new devolved lump sum later this year. Pension Age Winter Heating Payment (PAWHP) is set to be provided on a like-for-like basis to its Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) counterpart and paid to everyone over the State Pension age every year.

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The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed that new rule changes for around 180,000 people in part-time work claiming Universal Credit will start on May 13. Those working less than half of a full-time week will have to meet their work coach more often to boost their earnings.

More than 8,500 people have signed an online petition calling for a public inquiry to be held into changes made to the State Pension age for women. Petition creator Kay Clarke argues that increases to the State Pension age have left many women in “financial and mental despair” and believes that an inquiry “is necessary to expose the truth”.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) started writing to older men and women in September 2023, whose National Insurance (NI) records may have been affected by missing periods of Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP), resulting in a shortfall in their State Pension payments.

Funeral For A Friend, The Blackout, Holding Absence and more will come together to pay tribute to Linkin Park at a huge show in Birmingham later this year.Taking place at the Utilita Arena on August 18, the show is being put on by the Uprawr Foundation, a local charity founded by an alternative club night in the city to raise money to help provide free mental health counselling and services to the alternative community.The show was christened ‘1,000 Lights’ in reference to Linkin Park’s final album ‘One More Light’. Indeed, the Utilita Arena was the last place late frontman Chester Bennington performed before he took his own life in 2017 at the age of 41.The show will also feature talks and video messages from famous faces in the alternative music world as well as a performance from tribute band Linkin P4rk.Musicians can sign up to participate and will be tasked with fundraising for the charity via JustGiving.

Older people providing care during term-time or school holidays for children under the age of 12 may be able to boost State Pension payments by more than £6,000 over a typical 20-year retirement period. A single extra National Insurance credit currently adds around £303-a-year on to the full, New State Pension.

returned to London to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games.The trip marks the first time since his visit to see his estranged father following the king’s cancer diagnosis in February, as well as his first trip since learning of his sister-in-law Kate Middleton’s cancer diagnosis in March.“In response to the many inquiries and continued speculation on whether or not the duke will meet with his father while in the UK this week, it unfortunately will not be possible due to His Majesty’s full program,” a spokesperson for Harry told The Post on Tuesday.

Hundreds of thousands of older women are due to receive a letter from HM Revenue and Customs letting them know their National Insurance (NI) record may contain missing periods of Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) which in turn has affected the level of Basic or New State Pension they are entitled to. The Treasury started issuing these letters in September last year and is working with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to correct any administration errors as quickly as possible.

Marc Malkin Senior Editor, Culture and EventsMay kicked off with Variety celebrating the Power of Women New York, where Glenn Close helped honor – and have some fun on the red carpet with – Mariska Hargitay. In Sydney, Anya Taylor-Joy stunned in a gold ensemble at the “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” premiere and Austin Butler was in Beverly Hills taking part in an Emmy FYC event for “Masters of the Air.”Daniel Radcliffe celebrated his first Tony nomination for his work in “Merrily, We Roll Along” at the awards’ annual nominees press junket.

Austin Butler and Callum Turner reunited with their Masters of the Air costars at Official Emmy FYC Event on Saturday (May 4) in Beverly Hills, Calif.

The latest Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) figures indicate that fraud and error in the benefit system is falling after the UK Government restated its determination to drive levels down further and protect taxpayers’ money. The most-recent national statistics show that in the 2022/23 financial year, fraud and error rates fell to 3.6 per cent (£8.3 billion) from 4.0 per cent (£8.7 billion) - figures for 2023/24 are due to be published next month.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) has been in the spotlight since Prime Minister Rishi Sunak first shone a light on proposed welfare reforms for benefits delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) last month.

MSPs have backed the Scottish Government’s call for “compensation in full” to be paid to women impacted by changes to their State Pension age. In a Holyrood debate on Wednesday, the Scottish Parliament voted by 75 votes to zero, with 52 abstentions, which included Scottish Labour.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt has said that he can “rule out” raising the State Pension age to fund the UK Government’s plan to abolish National Insurance (NI) contributions, but added that the policy will take “a number of Parliaments” to achieve. His comments came just hours after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak assured MPs that State Pension payments would not be cut to fund his ambition to scrap NI contributions.