Thousands of Brits could be entitled to this £6k payment due to DWP mistake

Money Saving Expert, Martin Lewis has warned that hundreds of thousands of women may have missed out on an average of £6,000 in State Pension payments and can apply for it to be reimbursed.

The reason for the underpayment is due to an error by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). It is thought the mistake has impacted more than 230,000 married women, widows and divorcees.

Underpaid State Pension

Lewis explained on his ITV Money Show this week how many married women and widows may have been underpaid their State Pension and how they should go about checking if they’re eligible for cash back.

The error has mostly impacted married women, widows and divorcees who reached state pension age before April 2016. However, women over the age of 80 on a low pension, regardless of their marital status, should also check if they’ve been underpaid.

Lewis explained, as per The Mirror:

If the old state pension, so those ages 70 or above roughly, was less than 60% of their husband's, first of all there's some automatic top ups and backdating and they're working through it now so you'll get them.

If your husband was 65 after March 16, 2008 and the wife's pension didn't rise when he retired and it's under 60% you may get that top up.

There's also an automatic top up for any woman aged 80+ who was paid under £85 per week on the state pension.

But going back to the big theme, the old State Pension under 60%, you will need to claim it. There are free tools online and you can call the pension service to chat.

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How to check if you’re owed backdated State Pension payments

The basic state pension for 2022/23 is worth a maximum of £141.85 a week and so this is the figure you can use to judge whether you're being underpaid. An online calculator is also available, created by the former pension minister and partner at consultants LCP Steve Webb. You can check on the calculator and it will tell you if you should make a claim for the pension boost.

If you belong to any of the following groups you should consider making a claim, as per Money Saving Expert:

• Women who got divorced after reaching State Pension age, and haven't had their pension reassessed
• Women whose husband turned 65 before March 17, 2008 and are getting paid less than 60% of their husband's basic State Pension
• Married women on ZERO basic State Pension, but might be getting a small amount of additional State Pension (SERPS), or graduated retirement benefit

You can call The Pension Service on 0800 731 0469 and ask for your State Pension calculation to be reviewed.

If you are in any of the following groups then you should receive your State Pension top-up automatically:

• Women whose husband turned 65 on or after March 17, 2008, and are being paid less than 60% of their husband's basic State Pension.
• Widows whose husband died after March 17, 2008, and were paid less than 60% of his State Pension while he was alive
• Widows whose state pension didn't increase when their husband died.
• Women aged 80+ and - regardless of marital status - isn't being paid at least £85 a week in State Pension

Guidance can also be found on the government website.

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Sources used:

- Money Saving Expert 'Are you one of 100,000+ women missing out on £1,000s of state pension?'

- The Mirror 'Martin Lewis says thousands of people entitled to £6,000 cash back due to DWP error'

- Gov.uk 'State Pension underpayments: progress on cases reviewed to 31 October 2022'