Payments are being checked by the DWP and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for Historical Errors and Potential Back Payments of Payments of £ 11,905, on average.
Former Dwp Employee, Sandra wrench is urging all pensioners to check their annual uprating letter – Due this month – and simplifies how the started receiving their state pension beef ore Spot a potential payment eror, and challenge it.
Sandra Told the Daily Record: “There has been a lot of cover in the media about the state pension, but not a lot of infusioners can Check for theme Receipt of the correct amount or not.
Sandra Said: “Having Worked in Dwp for 42 years, 18 years of spent on State Pension, My Advice to Pensioners is to be asked, and the following information may be of use in EscERTAINING WHATHER YOU HAVE BEEN Underpaid or not. “
How to check your uprating letter from dwp for underpayment
The following information is for those people who have come in State Pension Age Before April 2016 and on the basic status pension.
Married Women and Over 80s Should be in receipt of at last 60 per cent basic state pension rate of £ 101.55. An additional pension and graduated pension is paid in addition to this basic amount.
Over 80s Also Get the 25 Pence Age Addition, So £ 101.55 Plus 25 Pence – £ 101.80. The 25 Pence Age Addition has been that amount for years.
From April 2025, 100 Per Cent Basic State Pension of £ 169.50 increases to £ 176.45 under the Old Scheme, and the 60 Per Center Rate increases £ 101.55 to £ 105.70 from April 2025. Additional age addition of 25 pence, which is not increased.
What to do if you think your state pension is wrong
Sandra Explained that if you discover your basic state pension is less than it should be, phone dwp on their change of circumstance TelepHone Number 0800 731 0469, State you have been underpaid and ask. Review your state pension.
Why do some women have a lower rate of basic status?
Sandra Said: “One Possible Reason is that Women Who Had their Children Priier to April 1978 Had No Protection for their State Pension if they stayed at home to look after their choice Protection (HRP) was not introduce until April 1978, and you get this protection until your child with 16. Until the child was 12.
“The Government (DWP) Issued A Statement in July 2023 That A Lot of Women Who Had Children Betway 1978 and 2000 May Not Have Hrp Added to their Ni Accounts, So Consequently May Have Been Underpaid Their State Pension. Prior to 2000 you do not have to put your national insurance number on the child benefit form when you cleared Child Benefit. “
HMRC are cured by going backdated records, but may not decorate Hold Old Records. Sandra Suggests Looking at your ni record to see if there are any non-qualitying years from 1978 when you may have had a child/children under the age of 16.
If you do not have access to a computer, the telephone number for the ni Helpline is 0300 200 3500.
Divorced women
Sandra Explained: “If you get divorced after you have cleared your state pension, you need to notify Dwp on 0800 731 0469 as a change of circumstance, and if you have less than 100 Per Category State Pension Could be incurred to 100 per cent using your Ex-Husband's Ni contributes.
“An additional pension and graduated pension you have, will be paid in addition to your basic status pension. Dwp will not know that you are divorced unless you tell them. You will need to send in your decree absolute to dwp for confirmation of your date of divorce. “
She also explained that once your state pension has been just to you, it cannot be taken away, so if you are divorced when you come to clear your state pension and entry to 100 per cent basic state pension Remarried a weekend you would be entitled to the 100 per cent basic state pension.
Berevement Support Payment
Sandra Also Explained That Berevement Support Payment Replaced Widows Benefits in 2017, But You Can Only Claim This If You Are Under State Pension Age.
She Said: “You must cloud with months of your spouse/Civil Partner's death to get the full rate of the benefit. You can cloud up to 21 months after their death but you will get fewer payments. “
The Dwp Number to Call for People on the Basic State Pension is 0800 151 2012.
Cohabiting parents with dependent children can appply for berevement benefits from february 9, 2023, when the law was changed.