Thousands of Women Could Be Owed £7,859 Due to State Pension Error
If you had a baby in the 1980s or 1990s and claimed Child Benefit, you might be entitled to a significant payout due to a long-standing National Insurance (NI) error. HMRC has started contacting around 370,000 people who may have been underpaid their state pensions, with an average amount owed being £7,859 per person.
The issue stems from missing Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) credits, which were designed to help parents—mostly mothers—who took time off work to raise children. Before 2000, Child Benefit claim forms did not require a National Insurance number. As a result, thousands of people who were eligible for HRP did not have these credits recorded properly in their NI records, leading to pension underpayments.
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HMRC is now sending letters to affected individuals, prioritizing those over the state pension age. In cases where someone has passed away, their family may be able to claim the missing funds on their behalf. According to reports, around 43,000 of the affected individuals are deceased, but their loved ones can still check and make a claim.
So, how do you find out if you're owed money? First, check your National Insurance record and state pension forecast on the government's website. If you reached state pension age after April 5, 2010, HRP credits should appear as complete years on your record. If you retired before that date, HRP was recorded differently, so you will need to contact the National Insurance helpline to verify your entitlement.
The government has also set up an online checker tool on GOV.UK to help people determine if they have been affected by this issue. If your HRP credits are missing, HMRC will notify the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to recalculate your state pension and issue any backpayments you are owed.
A DWP spokesperson has assured that the government is committed to fixing these errors as quickly as possible, acknowledging that they stem from administrative oversights by previous governments. A dedicated team has been established to process claims and ensure that those affected receive the money they are entitled to.
If you think you might be impacted, don’t wait for a letter—check your records now. This error has deprived thousands of their rightful pension payments, but there is still time to correct it. Make sure you or your loved ones don’t miss out on what is rightfully yours.
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