HUNDREDS of thousands of women are owed £1,000s after being caught up in a huge state pension error.
One of those individuals, Mrs Atkinson now 74, has received a £17,000 windfall after falling victim.
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The error, which was first revealed last year, has seen an estimated 210,000 people miss out on money they are entitled to during retirement – most of them women who were stay-at-home mums.
Of these, 150,000 are still alive and around 60,000 are now deceased.
The DWP estimates that £1.3billion is owed to those affected.
It means the average amount owed is £5,000 each.
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The affected are those who claimed child benefit, largely women, prior to May 2000 as they could have gaps in their National Insurance (NI) record which in turn affects their state pension amount.
The amount of state pension someone gets is based on their NI contributions and the number of “qualifying years” they have.
From 1978 to 2010, protection was provided for parents to avoid these gaps by a system known as Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) credits.
This system was then replaced in 2010 by the one we have now, called NI credits.
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If someone claimed child benefit before May 2000 and did not provide their NI number on the form, it is possible that their credits may not have been transferred to their NI account from the child benefit computer.
This may affect their pension entitlement and women who are now in their 60s and 70s are most likely to be affected.
Mrs Atkinson, who lives with her husband in Cornwall, was getting a state pension of £134 per week based on 29 years of National Insurance contributions.
However, earlier this year she heard about Home Responsibilities Protection and applied in March 2023.
She had a letter back from HMRC in June saying she had been awarded HRP from 1978/79 to 1988/89.
Even though was working for some of these years, most of them showed blank on her NI record, so HRP for those years would improve her pension.
But after DWP had failed to update her state pension she contacted Steve Webb, partner at LCP who has campaigned on this issue for over a decade, who took up her case.
She has now had an increase of £29.68 to her state pension and a lump sum of £16,966 for all of the underpayments since she retired in 2009.
It comes as the DWP is about to begin contacting people who might have been entitled to HRP between 1978 and 2010 but have no HRP on their NI record within weeks.
Where errors are found, NI records will be corrected and the DWP will then recalculate state pensions and pay arrears.
This could result in increased pension payments as well as a lump sum payment
Steve Webb said: “It is truly shocking that so many people have been underpaid because of errors on their National Insurance record for time at home with children.
“It is even worse that tens of thousands of people, mostly mothers, died without ever receiving the correct state pension.
“It is vitally important that HMRC and DWP are open and transparent about this whole process and that every effort is made to track down all those who may be entitled.”
What do I need to do now?
Mr Webb said anyone who has received child benefit since 1978 should check their NI record.
If the payment is missing, there is a form that can be filled in to get the information added to your record.
It is called a CF411 form and it can be found on the government’s website.
You can also contact the HMRC National Insurance helpline for an application form.
Your state pension will then be automatically recalculated and the arrears will be paid.
You can still apply for HRP if, for the full tax years (April to April) between 1978 and 2010, if you were either:
- Sharing the care of a child under 16 with a partner you lived with and they claimed Child Benefit instead of you
- caring for a sick or disabled person
Any HRP you had before April 6, 2010, have converted to National Insurance credits.
You must have reached State Pension age on or after April 6 for these credits to go towards your pension.
Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) explained
HRP was a scheme to protect parents’ and carers’ State Pension.
National Insurance credits replaced HRP in 2010.
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Most people got HRP automatically if they were getting child benefit in their name for a child under the age of 16 and they had given the child benefit office their National Insurance number.
If you think you may be entitled, but you have questions, the Pension Service can be reached using the gov.uk website or by calling 0800 731 0469.
