HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has urged thousands of pensioners—predominantly women—to review their state pension entitlements, as they could be eligible for back payments averaging £7,859.
The issue stems from historical errors in National Insurance (NI) records, which led to underpayments for those who were entitled to Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) between 1978 and 2010.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been working with HMRC to correct these errors, with over 370,000 letters already sent to those potentially affected. According to official figures, the government estimates that between £300 million and £1.5 billion in state pension payments were underpaid due to HRP miscalculations.
State Pension Underpayments Linked to Missing Hrp Records
HRP was a scheme designed to protect the state pension entitlement of parents and carers by reducing the number of qualifying years needed for a full pension. However, according to the DWP, some individuals’ HRP entitlements were not correctly recorded, resulting in lower state pension payments.
This issue was discovered in 2022, prompting the government to launch a Legal Entitlements and Administrative Practice (LEAP) corrections exercise to identify and compensate those affected.
According to official data, HMRC has so far processed 37,289 applications from people over state pension age and 5,428 from those under 66. The corrections exercise aims to rectify errors for individuals both above and below state pension age, ensuring that anyone missing HRP from their NI records receives the payments they are due.
Individuals who believe they may have been affected can check their eligibility online using the government’s self-identification tool. The DWP has prioritised issuing letters to those in their 60s and 70s first, though anyone who meets the criteria is encouraged to apply.
HMRC Urges Affected Individuals to Check Eligibility
The government has confirmed that all affected individuals should receive their back payments by the end of this year, according to the Daily Record.
While HMRC is using NI records to identify as many eligible claimants as possible, those who made child benefit claims before May 2000—when providing an NI number was not mandatory—are most at risk of missing out.
It is estimated that tens of thousands of people are owed an average of £5,000 in underpaid state pension benefits. HMRC and the DWP are conducting a wider awareness campaign to reach those eligible, encouraging them to check their records and apply if necessary.
