Mistakes made by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) led to millions of people missing out on around £400 each in 2022.
The Express reports processing errors meant just over 10% of all State Pension cases, around 1.3 million pensioners, had underpayments.
The average amount underpaid was more than £400 per person and came at a time when many people were struggling with the cost of living crisis. The colossal underpayments were discovered because the government is now actively carrying out checks rather than using estimates.
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This suggests underpayments could have been much higher in previous years. Pensioners were underpaid a total of £530m in 2022, which ex-pensions minister Sir Steve Webb, called an ”extraordinary” amount of money.
Details of the underpayments were unearthed in official government documents about fraud and error in the benefits system. According to analysis by the Labour Party around one in 10 pensioners were left short last year.
Overall, the data reveals that mistakes made by government officials cost benefits and state pension claimants £1.1 billion in the 2021-22 financial year. They also reveal how £140 million was underpaid to Universal Credit claimants in the same period while those on Employment and Support Allowance were left £130,000 short.
Some 1.8 million people were affected by underpayments overall.
A DWP spokesperson said: “State Pension underpayment rates remain low at 0.5% of expenditure. In 2021/22 we spent over £104 billion and in 2022/23 we were forecast to spend over £110 billion on the State Pension, supporting over 12.5 million pensioners.
“Our priority is ensuring everyone receives the financial support to which they are entitled and, where errors do occur, we are committed to fixing them as quickly as possible.”
There is little guidance for those concerned they are being underpaid their State Pension. Pensioners can't go directly to the DWP and query whether they have been affected but there are some online tools and advice sites out there to help give you some clues.
An online tool launched by former pensions minister Steve Webb on behalf of actuarial firm LCP can help married women check if they might be affected. If you use the LCP calculator and think you're eligible for a top-up in either scenario, then the DWP should pick up the error in their own records too.
The DWP started working to fix the problem on January 11, 2021, and said that it expects to make repayments by the end of 2023. If you are owed money, you'll likely have to sit tight and wait for the DWP to send you a letter confirming your payment.
Those considered at "high risk" like those over 80 and widows are being prioritised.
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