Need to know
Finance expert urges people to check if they could be owed a significant amount of money in state pension back payments due to Home Responsibilities Protection errors
Need to know: Martin Lewis reveals pension windfall for thousands of women
- Personal finance expert Martin Lewis has revealed that pensioners could be owed tens of thousands of pounds due to an administrative blunder affecting state pensions.
- The money-saving guru warned that over 100,000 women aged between 40 and 90 may be entitled to substantial back payments. One woman contacted Lewis saying she received £31,674 in backdated pension payments.
- The error relates to Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP), which should have protected the pension rights of people who took time off work between 1978 and 2010 to care for children or disabled relatives. Lewis said: “You were meant to have got a thing called Home Responsibilities Protection, which should have given you National Insurance years to replace the ones you weren’t getting by working.”
- The Department for Work and Pensions estimates it has short-changed pensioners between £300million and £1.5billion. Accounting firm Robson Laidler suggests individuals could be entitled to around £5,000 on average in backdated payments.
- HMRC is sending letters to some affected people, but Lewis urged those who think they might be affected to check themselves. He advised: “You need to go onto gov.uk to see if you’re projected to get the full state pension.”
- Experts recommend checking National Insurance records rather than waiting for official contact. There is no time limit for applying for missing HRP if it has not been awarded.
- Those affected should fill in form CF411 to apply for Home Responsibilities Protection if they believe their record is incorrect.
- READ THE FULL STORY: Martin Lewis says anyone who had children from 1978 – 2010 ‘could be in line for £5,000’
