Play all audios:
PENSIONERS HAVE BEEN UNDERPAID TO THE TUNE OF £800M - AN EYE-WATERING AND JAW-DROPPING AMOUNT - OLDER UK HOUSEHOLDS HAVE BEEN WARNED. 07:56, 01 Jun 2025 Three groups of state pensioners
could be owed up to £11,725 by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Pensioners have been underpaid to the tune of £800m - an eye-watering and jaw-dropping amount - older UK households
have been warned. State Pension errors mean there are two sets of correction exercises being investigated by the DWP. The first correction exercise relates to married women whose state
pension was not automatically increased when their husband retired, widows whose state pension was not automatically reassessed, and over-80s on low state pensions. The DWP first started
investigating these particular sets of errors in January 2021. The second correction exercise was launched in January 2024 and relates to mothers who were claiming Child Benefit before 2000
and may be missing Home Responsibilities Protection on their National Insurance record. READ MORE UK SET TO SIZZLE IN 'GLORIOUS' 27C MINI-HEATWAVE WITH 33 COUNTIES IN ENGLAND HIT
This means they may not be getting the correct amount of state pension, as your entitlement depends on your National Insurance record. Article continues below The majority of underpayment
cases fall into three main groups. Married Women (Category BL) are women affected when their pensions weren’t automatically increased when their husbands reached State Pension age. These
women were supposed to receive 60% of their husband’s basic State Pension, but many were left on a lower rate. Widowed Pensioners whose State Pension wasn’t properly recalculated after their
spouse passed away are also impacted. Some were eligible for more due to inheriting part of their partner’s pension. Individuals Over 80 (Category D) who did not automatically receive an
increase once they turned 80, despite being entitled to it under UK pension rules ar ealso impacted. Article continues below The payments range from £2,203 to £11,725. Rachel Vahey, head of
public policy at AJ Bell, said: “This is one of the biggest benefit scandals of modern times. DWP miscalculations have left thousands of pensioners – mainly women – short on their state
pension payments. The DWP 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 £736 million to a
staggering £805 million today. “But despite this progress, this appalling situation is not yet resolved. The DWP 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.“