{"id":48692,"date":"2025-04-25T06:41:08","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T06:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/48692\/"},"modified":"2025-04-25T06:41:08","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T06:41:08","slug":"biggest-benefit-scandal-of-all-time-as-dwp-owes-state-pensioners-800m-personal-finance-finance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/48692\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Biggest benefit scandal of all time’ as DWP owes state pensioners \u00a3800m | Personal Finance | Finance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Between 11 January 2021 and 31 March 2025, the government said it had identified 130,948 state pension<\/a> underpayments, owing pensioners an amount getting on for what experts estimate may be as much as \u00a31 billion.<\/p>\n

The historic correction exercise started in March 2021 when the Department for Work and Pensions (<\/a>DWP<\/a>) began checking hundreds of thousands of pension records to establish if pensioners have been underpaid <\/p>\n

The Office for Budget Responsibility has previously estimated the correction exercise could eventually cost the DWP<\/a> almost \u00a33 billion.<\/p>\n

The DWP<\/a> has confirmed to the Work and\u00a0Pensions\u00a0Committee<\/a> that they have completed the vast majority of reviews, but are still waiting for people to contact them with information meaning the exercise won\u2019t be fully completed until March 2027<\/p>\n

Rachel Vahey, head of public policy at AJ Bell, said: \u201cThis is one of the biggest benefit scandals of modern times. DWP<\/a> miscalculations have left thousands of pensioners \u2013 mainly women \u2013 short on their state pension<\/a> payments.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cThe DWP<\/a> has obviously been hard at work over the last six months, identifying another 11,000 cases of underpayment, which has ratcheted the bill up from \u00a3736 million to a staggering \u00a3805 million today.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cBut despite this progress, this appalling situation is not yet resolved. The DWP<\/a> has confirmed they have completed the vast majority of reviews, but it will take another two years, to the end of March 2027, before all cases are resolved.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is absolutely critical all those affected by this scandal receive the money they are owed as quickly and efficiently as possible. The DWP<\/a> is calling on customers to provide additional information to put an end to this sad episode. But that relies on these people getting online and engaging with the DWP<\/a>. You can check if you\u2019ve been underpaid and whether you need to make a claim by contacting the\u00a0Pension\u00a0Service<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cOnce all compensation has been paid, the government needs to undertake a comprehensive review of its processes to ensure these mistakes are never repeated. Trust in pensions is fragile at the best of times and failures such as this will not help. Sadly, it will likely take years, if not decades, to rebuild the confidence lost as a result of this scandal.\u201d<\/p>\n

The scandal of state pension<\/a> underpayments relates to those who should have been entitled to uplifts under the pre-2016 system, but due to administrative errors did not receive them. These errors have been found to date back as far as 1985.<\/p>\n

The main people likely to have been underpaid their state pension<\/a> include:<\/p>\n