Thousands of older people have been underpaid their State Pension for more than a decade due to errors made by the Department for Work and Pensions , and are now getting their money back. Recent government data revealed that nearly 100,000 older people have received payments of up to £12,468 in back pay.
The main groups affected by the underpayments are married women, civil partners, widows, some divorcees, and people who are over 80. Although more than half a billion in cash has been returned to older people, experts estimate that there is a further £1 billion waiting to be claimed by pensioners, reports the Daily Record.
The vast majority of people on State Pension are receiving the correct amount, but in 2020 the DWP discovered that many older pensioners and women were being paid a lower pension than they were due after not receiving an automatic increase that took effect in 2008. These pensioners were owed this money by law, causing the department to start picking through their cases to find any underpayments.