Over the years, thousands of women have been underpaid for their state pension due to errors and mistakes made by the Department for Work and Pension (DWP)
Bereaved families have been urged to act quickly as they could lose out on thousands of pounds in state pension underpayments.
Over the years, thousands of women have been underpaid for their state pension due to errors and mistakes made by the Department for Work and Pension (DWP). The underpayments range from a few hundred pounds to more than £100,000 in some cases. Those affected by the underpayments have also been able to claim what they are due – and this includes their surviving families if this person has died.
However, an investigation by This is Money in 2021, revealed that the DWP used to destroy state pension records four years after the death of a pensioner and their surviving spouse. This meant that families who were looking to recoup the losses for their elderly relative were unable to do so as their records were not there.
The deletion of records stopped in January 2021 and has been paused until December 31, 2026. This move came after it was discovered that some state pension records – most especially those involving older married women and widows – contained major errors. According to the DWP around 2,500 families were affected by the deletion of pre-2021 data.
In a major update to the scandal this month, these families started to receive letters from the benefits department telling them that it had ended the investigation into the underpayments. The DWP did not confirm why it was ending these investigations. This sparked outrage from those who have been impacted, with some describing the situation as “a disgrace” and a “total sham”.
However, when pushed by Liberal Democrat Work and Pensions spokesman Steve Darling recently, the DWP confirmed that it could review state pension awards if certain records were supplied. This includes things such as old letters from the department, and bank statements showing pension payment amounts.
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Several years ago, the government launched a website so the next of kin of people potentially underpaid state pension could request information after pressure from campaigners and MPs.
Darling said: “It’s deeply troubling that families are being told the DWP can’t check because records have supposedly been deleted. Bereaved families deserve transparency and a fair chance to ensure their relatives received what they were entitled to.”
Darling added that it was “a step forward” and that the DWP says it will now consider applications based on people’s own paperwork. Steve Webb, partner at pension consultant LCP wrote on This is Money: “It is immensely frustrating for people who registered details of a loved one to be kept waiting years for a response, only to be told that records have been deleted.”
“For people who have waited for years for a response from the Government, it is pretty shocking to get a letter out of the blue saying that nothing can be done because the records have been destroyed.
“This will almost certainly turn families into private detectives having to dig out any records they can find in order to challenge the DWP if they think underpayments have occurred.”
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Families affected will need to rummage through any and all old paperwork in order to find documents they can use to reopen their cases. Next of kin or executors of recently deceased parents may be able to request statements from their bank, building society, or Post Office Card Account.
Steve Webb advised: “If you are tracking down old bank statements for a late relative, it would be most useful to narrow it down to the months just before and after their spouse reached state pension age, or just before and after their spouse died.”
To check for a possible underpayment, try to find any of the following figures and compare them with the official state pension rates at the time:
- The amount your mother received before your father retired (if applicable)
- The amount she received after your father retired
- The amount she received after your father passed away
- Whether her pension amount changed when she turned 80 (if applicable)
These can be compared with prevailing state pension rates to identify potential underpayments. A DWP spokesperson said: “We always encourage next of kin and representatives of deceased customers to contact us if they have relevant proof such as historical letters from the department so we may be able to review the customer’s state pension award.”
The spokesperson added that the department continues to work through outstanding cases, with 857,050 cases reviewed as of September 2024.
