Wives and women who divorced in retirement urged to check pensions 

The Government has put aside £3bn to  pay around 200,000 wives, widows and over-80s who should have paid a bigger pension

Older wives and women who divorced in retirement are being urged to check their state pension after hundreds of thousands missed out on better pay.

The Government has put aside £3 billion to identify and pay around 200,000 wives, widows and over-80s who should have had bigger pensions. 

It affects women who retired before April 2016 with old state pensions. The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) will write to those who missed out. 

But it excludes wives who should have claimed before March 17, 2008, and divorcees who should have notified the DWP. 

Those late to make a claim are only entitled to a year of back payments.

Divorcees and widows can claim the same basic pension their husband had, while wives are entitled to 60 per cent. 

To check if you may be affected, visit lcp.uk.com/ is-your-state-pension-being- underpaid/

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This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk