Martin Lewis has highlighted how due to a DWP (Department for Work and Pensions) error, some women may be owed up to £6,000 in backdated pension payments.
Speaking tonight on his ITV programme, The Martin Lewis Money Show, the money saving expert detailed how many married women and widows may have been underpaid.
The women’s underpaid state pensions scandal was first exposed by This is Money and MailOnline, after investigations by pension editor Tanya Jefferies and columnist Sir Steve Webb.
These followed a reader question to Steve and their probe eventually revealed that more than 230,000 women are thought to have been underpaid their state pension and could be due a payout – with the average amount being more than £6,000.
During the show, many viewers jumped online to check what they could be owed, crashing the Government’s pension website.
On his ITV show, Martin Lewis explained how married women and widows could find out what they are owed from the old state pension after the DWP made an error
According to Mr Lewis, married women who hit state pension age before April 2016, including widows and divorcees, and the over-80s, whether married or not – should check if they’re owed.
The financial guru, 50, explained that this is for those who are at the age of 70 with an old basic state pension at less 60 per cent of their husbands.
He said: ‘Now first of all you’ve got some automatic top-ups and backdating and they’re [the DWP] working through it now, so you’ll get them.
‘So if your husband was 65 after the 16th of March 2008 (I told you it’s complicated) and the wife’s pension didn’t rise when he retired, and it’s under 60 per cent you may get that top up.’
> Underpaid state pension: Are you affected and what should you do?
More than 230,000 women are thought to have been underpaid their state pension and could be due a payout – with the average amount being more than £6,000
The National Audit Office report repeatedly mentioned the work of This is Money columnist Sir Steve Webb and pension and investing editor Tanya Jefferies in bringing the scandal to light
A damning National Audit Office report into underpaid women’s state pensions in 2021, credited Tanya, Steve and This is Money for alerting the Government to big underpayments to elderly women, says staff made mistakes and managers missed opportunities to pick them up.
The investigations into individual cases by Tanya and Steve won back hundreds of thousands of pounds for women and families affected.
Mr Lewis also explained how there is an automatic top-up for any woman who is 80 plus and was paid under £85 a week of the state pension.
However, focusing on the larger theme, Martin explained that those on the old state pension under 60 per cent will need to claim it back.
Although he admitted it was a complicated process, he said there are many free tools online and the Pension Service, which you can call.
Mr Lewis said you should check if ‘for example, you husband turned 65 before March 2008 and you’re paid under 60 per cent or you got divorced after retirement and your pension is less than your ex-husbands, now these can be back dated sometimes, but only for up to a year.’
But if the woman has passed away now and it has gone to her inheritors they may be able to claim the backdated too.
Someone wrote into the show to explain how this advice had enabled them to claim over £8,000 in back payments
The financial guru, 50, explained that this is for those who at the age of 70 with an old basic state pension at less 60 per cent of their husbands
The 50-year-old financial guru added: ‘So basically if you’re a woman, you’re aged over 70 and you’ve got a very low state pension then you need to go and do some reading on this.’
Someone wrote into the show to explain how this advice had enabled them to claim over £8,000 in back payments.
Writing to the ITV show a woman named Virginia said: ‘Martin told us that the DWP had made a payment error to retired women whose pension was not 60 per cent of their husband’s pension.
‘I contacted the DWP and received a back payment amount of £8,474. Thank you so much, it is going to be a big help to us during the increase in energy prices.’
Earlier this month a viewer of Martin Lewis’s ITV show revealed how she saved £575 a year after sending two texts to change her mobile phone bill.
The fan, known only as Carole, shared her success story on Tuesday’s Martin Lewis Money Show Live, explaining how a tip shared by the financial guru in a previous episode helped her slash her phone bill.
Writing to the programme, she revealed: ‘I sent INFO to 85075 as advised by you, my current provider contacted me and I’m now on a SIM-only deal.
‘I have unlimited calls and texts, 15GB of data, free EU roaming – and I keep my own number – for just £8 a month, saving £575 a year.’
In a previous episode, Martin explained how to check if you’re still in a contract with your current provider – if you’re not, then it means you’re free to switch to a cheaper deal elsewhere.
To find out if you’re in a contract, customers need to text INFO to 85075 for free. A reply should then tell you if you have any exit fees to pay to leave your supplier.
If you decide to switch from your current provider, but want to keep your number, you can text PAC to 65075 for free on your phone.
You will receive a PAC code from your supplier, which you’ll need to give to the mobile phone company you plan to move to.
Replying to Carole, Martin said: ‘Wow, that’s very good… I’m glad to hear this worked at home. You should try it and then, if you know you’re free to leave, it means you’re out of contract.
‘Either you can try and see what your provider’s cheapest deal is, haggle with them, or go on a comparison website and see what the cheapest you can get is.
‘Just look at the size of the savings. So many people stay on high rates and you can slash it by 70 per cent or 80 per cent.’
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