A new group of people on the New State Pension may have been underpaid by the DWP. A former pensions minister has warned that new evidence suggests that errors are still being made with some State Pension payment claims. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) began a Legal Entitlements and Administrative Practice (LEAP) corrections exercise in February 2021 to fix previous State Pension errors relating to certain groups of people, including some widows and widowers.
However, Sir Steve Webb, a former LIb Dem pensions minister who is now a partner at LCP (Lane Clark and Peacock) said he had found evidence of a new group of cases where incorrect information was given. He said people claiming the New State Pension , who were already widowed when they retired, may have been underpaid and due a back payment. Sir Steve said he had been contacted by four separate people who had not been awarded any inherited State Pension when they retired and had been told in writing or over the phone by the DWP that they were not entitled.
He explained that in all four cases, this was incorrect and an increased amount of State Pension has been arranged and arrears have been paid. In two of the cases, the underpayment amounted to over £2,000 per year, which could potentially add up to a £40,000 shortfall over a typical retirement. Sir Steve said one of the people he dealt with had said: “I personally would like to see more people come forward to claim what is rightfully theirs.
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