The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has repaid more than £300m to individuals impacted by historic underpayments of pensions, an update has revealed.
The problem affected marred women whose husbands reached pensionable age before 2008. It also impacted widows and those over 80 who were entitled to an ‘enhanced pension’ but were unaware they could have their payments boosted by up to 60 per cent.
The latest DWP update has revealed 46,716 instances of underpayment in the 173,500 cases reviewed between January 11, 2021 and February 28, 2023.
A total of £147 million has been paid to more than 22,000 cases involving a married woman, with an average payment of £6,630 each.
Nearly 10,000 cases of widows being underpaid has resulted in a £113 million pay out, totalling £11,521 each.
Meanwhile, 14,512 over 80s will receive an average of £2,710 each, a £39 million pay out from the DWP.
The DWP said: “In 2020, the Department for Work and Pensions became aware of a number of individuals who had not had their State Pension increased, in accordance with the law, automatically when this should have occurred.
“This prompted the department to take action to investigate the extent of the problem.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here