State pensioners could get £11,900 by end of 2024 as DWP corrects underpayments

State pensioners who received too little or no money as a result of government errors could get backpay of around £11, 905 by the end of the year. The Department for Work and Pensions has issued a new update on a State Pensions correction exercise that began in January 2021.

The so-called Legal Entitlements and Administrative Practice (LEAP) exercise aims to resolve underpayments affecting women who are married, widowed or aged over 80. The DWP said that between January 11, 2021, and September 30, 2024, it had identified 119,050 underpayments, owed a total of £736 million.

Extra amounts due to married and over-80s pensioners have now all been dealt with and "progress remains on track for the widowed cases to be completed by the end of 2024." The issues relate to people who did not get their State Pension automatically increased because of their age or circumstances.

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The categories of underpayments, number of cases reviewed and payments made so far are listed below.

Married

Those with insufficient National Insurance contributions to qualify for a Basic State Pension may be entitled to a pension through their husband, wife or civil partner's NI contributions. This is called a Category BL State Pension and can give them a Basic State Pension of up to £101.55 a week (at 2024-2025 rates).

• Cases reviewed: 321,142
• Underpayments identified: 45,907
• Average arrears paid: £5,591
• Total amount repaid: £250.6m

Widowed

Those who are widowed and are getting a Basic State Pension of less than £169.50 a week (in 2024-2025 rates) can also derive pension entitlement from their late spouse or civil partner. This may give them a Basic State Pension of up to £169.50 a week. They can also inherit between 50 per cent and 100 per cent of any Additional State Pension and 50 per cent of any Graduated Retirement Benefit.

• Cases reviewed: 445,188
• Underpayments identified: 39,706
• Average arrears paid: £11,905
• Total amount repaid: £417.2m

Over 80

People who reach age 80 and are getting no Basic State Pension or less than the full amount of £101.55 a week (in 2024/2025 rates) can qualify for a Category D State Pension that uplifts their entitlement to £101.55 a week.

• Cases reviewed: 90,720
• Underpayments identified: 33,437
• Average arrears paid: £2,202
• Total amount repaid: £68.2m

Two other types of State Pension errors are also being investigated. These include cases where Home Responsibilities Protection is missing from the National Insurance records of parents and carers who claimed Child Benefit but did not provide their National Insurance number on the claim.

Other instances relate to Universal Credit claimants who may be receiving less than their full pension entitlement because their National Insurance credits were not processed by HMRC between 2017-2018 and 2022-2023.

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