HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has sent 370,000 letters asking older people to check their State Pension after identifying missing periods where they should have been paid more than they were.
It said so far, it had identified 5,344 underpayments, with total arrears of around £42 million.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said the average back payment was £7,859.
The issue dates back to 2022 when the DWP found that periods of Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) were missing.
This meant their National Insurance records were not updated.
GB News reported that the DWP and HMRC launched the Legal Entitlements and Administrative Practice (LEAP) program to help identify people with missing HRP on their State Pension records.
493,813 people used an eligibility tool on GOV.UK, and the DWP has prioritised sending letters to people in their 60s and 70s who are closest to State Pension age.
Anyone who thinks they may be impacted can check online using the self-identification tool on GOV.UK.
By the end of September last year, HMRC had processed 37,289 applications from people over State Pension age and 5,428 from those under 66. So far, the DWP has paid out £42 million in back payments.
The DWP estimates that between £300m and £1.5 billion in State Pension payments were underpaid due to issues with HRP.
HRP was given to those who had to look after children or adults and was replaced by National Insurance (NI) credits on April 6, 2010.
HMRC is using NI records to find people who may have been eligible for HRP between 1978 and 2010 but don’t have it recorded; it is estimated that tens of thousands of people are owed an average of £5,000 in back payments.
HMRC and DWP are also running a wider campaign to ensure that everyone who might be eligible is aware of the corrections process.
Someone may have been entitled to HRP between 1978 and 2010 if they meet any of these conditions:
- They were claiming Child Benefit for a child under 16.
- They were caring for a child with a partner who claimed Child Benefit.
- They were receiving Income Support for caring for someone who was sick or disabled.
- They were caring for a sick or disabled person who was claiming certain benefits.
Additionally, between 2003 and 2010, individuals who were foster or kinship carers in Scotland may also have applied for HRP.
Some people automatically qualified for HRP, including those:
- Receiving Child Benefit for a child under 16 and providing their National Insurance number.
- Receiving Income Support for caring for someone sick or disabled without needing to register for work.
HRP can also be claimed for the years spent caring for a sick or disabled person if the care lasted at least 35 hours a week and the person received specific benefits.
For those who received Carer’s Allowance, HRP is not needed as National Insurance credits are automatically provided.
