The government has sent out more than 370,000 letters to those potentially eligible for the HMRC state pension underpayment correction, with a big boost on offer
Pension specialists have indicated that anyone who brought up children between 1978 and 2010 could be entitled to compensation averaging £8,377. Pension recovery firm AskRose, which is assisting approximately 100,000 women potentially impacted, revealed this week that dozens of its clients have passed away since lodging a claim.
If someone took time off work or cut their hours to care for children or someone with a chronic illness or disability between 1978 and 2010, a programme called Home Responsibilities Protection was intended to safeguard their state pension.
Historical mistakes by HMRC mean thousands of women never had that protection properly documented, as National Insurance records weren’t always correctly linked to Child Benefit or Family Allowance applications.
This means HMRC and DWP cannot identify everyone affected, which is why individuals are being urged to examine their own records rather than waiting to be contacted. Official HMRC data shows the average compensation stands at £8,377. Officials have dispatched more than 370,000 letters to those potentially entitled.
The government has previously stated: “Home Responsibilities Protection was a scheme that ran between 6 April 1978 and 5 April 2010 which reduced the number of qualifying years of National Insurance contributions a person with caring responsibilities needed to receive the full basic State Pension.”, reports the Express.
“The government reported the findings of its investigations into some missing historical periods of Home Responsibilities Protection in some individuals’ records, and the associated impact on State Pension awards, in the Department for Work and Pensions Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 [HC 1455]. The main cause of the issue was that NI numbers were not always recorded when customers claimed Child Benefit before 2000. The government has estimated that around 210,000 individuals may have been affected by missing periods of Home Responsibilities Protection.
“HMRC and DWP are working together to correct cases as quickly as possible. HMRC started contacting potentially impacted customers from September 2023, prioritising those above State Pension age.”
Concerning the complimentary check, the Government has declared: “To correct this issue, potentially impacted customers will be invited to check their eligibility and make an application to HMRC for Home Responsibilities Protection. To help individuals determine their eligibility, a self-identification tool is available on GOV.UK.
“Where an application is successful, those with a State Pension impact will have their award corrected and any arrears paid. HMRC and DWP will also trigger a wider communications campaign working with key stakeholders and representative bodies to ensure that all those who may be eligible are aware of this.
“Before making an application, people can learn more about Home Responsibilities Protection, check the eligibility criteria and find the application form online at www.gov.uk/home-responsibilities-protection-hrp/eligibility. Customers under State Pension age can check their National Insurance and State Pension forecasts online at www.gov.uk/check-state-pension.”
Regarding eligibility, individuals must have been collecting their state pension for at least one complete year before an underpayment can be examined, which given the current pension age of 66, means you need to be 67 or older. Merely having brought up children during that period is insufficient on its own.
The protection was specifically tailored for those who reduced their working hours or ceased work entirely to care for others. This means that if your National Insurance contributions have been accurately recorded throughout, you won’t be eligible.
HMRC’s own initiative to reach out to affected pensioners in 2023 only achieved a response rate of a mere eight per cent. Advisers have warned that some claimants have sadly passed away before their cases could be resolved.
Elaine Walker, Director of AskRose, has highlighted the significant human cost of the delay. She stated: “In the time it has taken to open this process up, too many of our clients have sadly passed away before being able to claim the money they were owed. They were left, in some cases, for more than 15 years without a fair pension and were then unable to even enjoy getting their recompense.”
You could qualify if you:
- Claimed Child Benefit for a child under 16.
- Were a partner of someone who claimed Child Benefit while you were the main carer.
- Received Income Support as a carer.
- Looked after someone who was sick or disabled and receiving certain benefits.
Once a claim is submitted to HMRC and the DWP, processing typically takes around four to six months.