Thousands of pensioners, including British expats on Spain’s Costa Blanca, could be missing out on substantial back payments due to an error by the UK Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The issue primarily affects those who claimed Child Benefit before 2000 and have gaps in their National Insurance (NI) records, many of whom are women.
To identify those impacted, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has dispatched hundreds of thousands of letters to people over the state pension age. The DWP estimates that between £300 million and £1.5 billion in State Pension was underpaid due to incorrect records of Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP), a scheme that shielded the State Pension entitlements of parents and carers before being replaced by NI credits in 2010.
HRP was designed to protect those with caregiving responsibilities between 1978 and 2010, ensuring they did not miss out on pension entitlements. However, due to inconsistencies in recording HRP, many may be due back payments averaging around £5,000.
The discrepancy stems from changes introduced in May 2000, which mandated the inclusion of an NI number on claims. Those who filed after this date were not affected by the HRP recording errors, but earlier claimants may have missed out on pension entitlements as a result.
In addition to reaching out to those directly affected, the DWP is also encouraging personal representatives to make claims on behalf of deceased individuals who may have been underpaid.
HMRC is cross-referencing NI records to identify as many eligible individuals as possible, including those residing overseas. Those wishing to confirm their eligibility will need to verify if there are gaps in their NI records as a first step in the HRP correction process. The HMRC and DWP campaign seeks to make all potentially eligible individuals aware of the scheme, ensuring they receive the correct pension payments and any due back payments.