{"id":147911,"date":"2025-05-31T22:39:12","date_gmt":"2025-05-31T22:39:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/147911\/"},"modified":"2025-05-31T22:39:12","modified_gmt":"2025-05-31T22:39:12","slug":"heres-how-you-can-find-out-if-youre-owed-money-from-your-state-pension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/147911\/","title":{"rendered":"Here’s how you can find out if you’re owed money from your state pension"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\t\tMost of the people impacted by this are women (Picture: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

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Thousands of people could have missed out on payments towards their state pension<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Parents and carers who took time off work<\/a> to look after children before 2010 may not have received all of the state pension payments they were owed.<\/p>\n

This is due to gaps in their National Insurance records \u2013 and only about 12,300 people have received their back payments.<\/p>\n

The gap in payments has been linked to Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) \u2013 Metro<\/strong> explains what that is and how to find out if you\u2019re due some cash.<\/p>\n

What is Home Responsibilities Protection?<\/strong><\/p>\n

HRP was designed to help parents and carers build up their state pensions while out of work to look after children or disabled adults.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tThose affected are being sent letters \u2013 but you can also check your eligibility online (Picture: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The scheme was in place between 1978 and 2010.<\/p>\n

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HRP was replaced by National Insurance credits in 2010, which automatically protect state pension entitlement if you claim child benefit and provide your NI number.<\/p>\n

What caused the error and how has it been fixed?<\/strong><\/p>\n

These credits weren\u2019t properly recorded on people\u2019s National Insurance records in many cases \u2013 especially if child benefit claims made before May 2000 didn\u2019t include a NI number.<\/p>\n

This means some people may now be receiving a smaller state pension than they should \u2013 and the impact is mainly being felt by women.<\/p>\n

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are working together to try and fix the problem.<\/p>\n

They are identifying people affected by missing HRP credits and updating their National Insurance records, so their state pension can be recalculated.<\/p>\n

In its 2024 annual report, the DWP estimated about 194,000 could be affected by the HRP error.<\/p>\n

It set aside \u00a31.15billion to try and fix the problem.<\/p>\n

As of March 31 of this year, a total of 12,379 people have been repaid an average of \u00a38,377.<\/p>\n

Why haven\u2019t eligible people claimed back their cash?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\t\t\"checking
\n\t\tYou could be owed thousands (Picture: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Letters have been sent out to people who are already over the state pension age, while HMRC continues to contact others who might be eligible.<\/p>\n

The government thinks it could take until 2027-8 to fully reimburse everyone who is owed money. <\/p>\n

Very few people who have received a letter about the error have gone on to make claims \u2013 and the government found many of those didn\u2019t understand the letters or recognise the term HRP.<\/p>\n

Others were worried the letter could be a scam, and some found the online process of claiming difficult to navigate.<\/p>\n

How do you check if you\u2019re eligible?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are plenty of eligible people who simply assumed they would not be eligible for the cash.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re unsure, you should use the gov.uk online checker<\/a> to find out.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t have to have received a letter to check your record.<\/p>\n

If you are eligible, HMRC will update your record and the DWP will recalculate how much state pension you are entitled to.<\/p>\n

Those already over state pension age and unable to apply online should call the National Insurance helpline on 0300 200 3500.<\/p>\n

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

For more stories like this, <\/strong>check our news page<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

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