HMRC sends 370,000 letters over major state pension error - are you due £7,859?
HMRC sends 370,000 letters over major state pension error - are you due £7,859?
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HMRC has sent letters to 370,000 people over potential state pension errors - with people due £7,859 back on average. The issue relates to people - mainly women - who may have missed out on an old version of National Insurance credits. Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) reduced the number of qualifying years you need on your National Insurance record to claim the state pension.
It was claimed by parents and carers when they had to take time off work to look after children or other family members, and was replaced by National Insurance credits in 2010. However, HMRC is now investigating after it was discovered that Child Benefit claim forms submitted before 2000 did not include a National Insurance number.
This means the correct level of HRP may not have been carried across correctly for thousands of people - so they may not be getting the correct amount of state pension. Those who are affected are mainly stay-at-home mums who made a claim for Child Benefit between 1978 and 2000.
Latest figures from HMRC shows 370,000 women have been contacted regarding potential underpayments, with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) paying back £7,859 on average per person, so far. Of those who responded to the letters, HMRC identified 5,344 cases of underpayments between January 8 and September 30, 2024, totalling approximately £42million in arrears.
