The Department could owe thousands of pensioners money for Work and Pensions (DWP), a new Freedom of Information (FOT) has found. The request revealed that by the end of July 2024, around 2,000 people had received a letter from the DWP telling them they had been underpaid on their state pension. However, to claim the missed cash, recipients of the letter must respond to the DWP or they could miss out.
If the group of 1,859 people who received the letter do not respond then the underpayments will be left unclaimed, shares former pensions minister and partner at LCP Steve Webb, reports The Mirror. Thousands of pensions could be owed more than £100,000 by DWP It's understood that the underpayments followed an error by the DWP that saw three groups underpaid in their state pension. This mostly affected women, including those who were married or widowed and who met the state pension age before April 2016.
The error has also affected those aged over 80 and is said to be caused by an issue linked to the partner's state pension entitlement. The data shared in the FOI showed that many of the cases related to when a person died who was a widow, according to the DWP. Did you know, your family, friend, neighbour or loved one could be eligible for an average £3,900 extra a year through Pension Credit? Find out more https://t.
co/N9h7Dk3tDW — Department for Work and Pensions (@DWPgovuk) August 20, 2024 To correct the error, the DWP sent out 1,671 letters to the next of kin they believe .