DWP make payouts totalling £900 million after state pension errors

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Your help makes all of the distinction. Learn extra The Division for Work and Pensions (DWP) have paid out virtually £900 million to Britons after errors had been made with their state pensions.

A number of errors in state pension funds have been spotlighted lately and in some instances the individuals affected died earlier than they could possibly be put proper.

Errors can probably be mounted even after somebody has died, with the cash due going to heirs.

Nevertheless, considerations that some state pension data could possibly be deleted, making it “just about unattainable” to appropriate previous errors in funds, have been raised by a former minister.

Sir Steve Webb, a former Liberal Democrat pensions minister, stated he has written to the everlasting secretary on the Division for Work and Pensions (DWP), Sir Peter Schofield, asking him to make sure that data are retained for so long as they might be wanted to clear up any excellent state pension errors.

The DWP’s place on knowledge deletion is stored underneath evaluation and no choice has been made to revert to enterprise as typical course of.

<img src="https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/08/28/15/15/iStock-859630300-(1).jpeg" srcset="https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/08/28/15/15/iStock-859630300-(1).jpeg?quality=75&width=320&auto=webp 320w, https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/08/28/15/15/iStock-859630300-(1).jpeg?quality=75&width=640&auto=webp 640w" loading="lazy" alt="The DWP put a temporary pause on data deletions as part of the major correction exercise" class="sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn"/> open picture in gallery

The DWP put a brief pause on knowledge deletions as a part of the most important correction train (Getty/iStock) A DWP spokesperson stated: “We're dedicated to making sure pensioners get the monetary help they deserve and have up to now reviewed over 900,000 buyer data, with awards totalling over £900 million in arrears made.

“The place errors do happen we're dedicated to resolving them, which is why now we have paused deleting state pension data.”

A freedom of knowledge (FOI) response acquired by Sir Steve, who had requested info from the DWP, stated that in 2021 the division put a brief pause on deletions, as a part of the most important correction train on underpaid pensions to married girls, widows and the over-80s.

Sir Steve stated that as pension data are usually deleted 4 years after somebody dies, there's a threat that data all the way in which again to 2017 may finally be wiped, making it tougher for households to obtain justice.

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The FOI reply stated: “Utility of the usual retention coverage stays paused.

<img src="https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/05/21/00/a69f4e528e6a5b8ffcf400ca7d36c0afY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzQ3ODI0ODIz-2.9500800.jpg" srcset="https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/05/21/00/a69f4e528e6a5b8ffcf400ca7d36c0afY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzQ3ODI0ODIz-2.9500800.jpg?quality=75&width=320&auto=webp 320w, https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/05/21/00/a69f4e528e6a5b8ffcf400ca7d36c0afY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzQ3ODI0ODIz-2.9500800.jpg?quality=75&width=640&auto=webp 640w" loading="lazy" alt="Former Liberal Democrat pensions minister Sir Steve Webb has written to the DWP permanent secretary to ensure records are retained for as long as they may be needed to clear up any outstanding state pension errors" class="sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn"/> open picture in gallery

Former Liberal Democrat pensions minister Sir Steve Webb has written to the DWP everlasting secretary to make sure data are retained for so long as they might be wanted to clear up any excellent state pension errors (Dave Thompson/PA Archive) “As soon as the embargo is lifted, then we'll take a look at deletion of data which are not required and re-apply the retention coverage.”

Sir Steve, who's now a accomplice at consultants LCP (Lane Clark & Peacock) stated that, with round 500,000 individuals over state pension age dying annually, a choice to now delete knowledge for deaths in 2017 to 2020 inclusive, which had been initially retained however are greater than 4 years outdated, may probably result in as many as two million data being wiped.

He stated a few of these would come with girls who had missed out on “house tasks safety” – a scheme to assist shield mother and father’ and carers’ state pension – whose households could also be unable to have the scenario corrected.

Sir Steve pointed to previously-released DWP figures indicating that out of an estimated 194,000 individuals affected by errors regarding house tasks safety, 43,000 died having by no means benefited from the safety.

Those that had been deceased had been underpaid an estimated £127 million.

Sir Steve urged individuals who consider there could have been errors to have their data checked.

He stated: “I usually hear from people who find themselves making an attempt to type out errors within the state pension of family members who're not with us, however are instructed nothing may be performed as a result of the data have been destroyed.

“While we can't get again the data which have already been deleted, it's important that DWP doesn't now delete thousands and thousands extra data, particularly given the reside technique of making an attempt to repair errors round house tasks safety.

“The least we will do for individuals who had been by no means paid the best pension is to do all we will to make it possible for not less than their households get the cash they missed out on.”