Expert warns the Government’s letter-writing campaign has been a ‘dismal failure’
Expert warns the Government has ‘all but given up on these mothers’ (Image: Getty)
More than 100,000 mothers who have been unpaid in their state pensions are unlikely to ever receive the money in what an expert has branded a “hammer blow”. Former pensions minister Sir Steve Webb accused the government of “all but giving up” on the women who have errors on their national insurance (NI) record due to missing credits for taking time out of employment to raise children.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) had previously written to people who may be affected, telling them to use an online checker to see if they are entitled and an online form to apply. The records of 12,379 pensioners have since been corrected with payouts of £104 million.
But a new report by the DWP showed it now expects to spend just £29.8 million more on future corrections and has removed £1 billion set aside for such payments in its accounts.
Sir Steve criticised the “complicated” online process and called for a fresh publicity campaign with a simple paper form for pensioners.
The partner at pension consultants LCP said: “DWP’s latest report is a hammer blow to over 100,000 mothers who are receiving reduced state pensions because of errors on their NI record.
“The Government’s letter-writing campaign has been a dismal failure and this was entirely predictable given its reliance on a complicated online claims process.
“Although there will still be some ongoing publicity, the figures in the annual report are an admission that the Government itself does not expect these efforts to have much impact.
“In effect, the Government has all but given up on these mothers and this is totally unacceptable.
“It is time for a fresh campaign of direct mail to the women potentially affected, this time making it much easier for women to apply and supported by a fresh publicity blitz.”
The DWP previously estimated that the total amount owed could be £1.3 billion, with 210,000 people affected.
The issue is due to mothers missing home responsibilities protection (HRP) on their NI record.
A Government spokesperson said: “We are determined to help people who have been left out of pocket as a result of historical errors which are no fault of their own.
“That’s why we wrote directly to over 370,000 of those who were potentially affected and launched an online tool to help people check if they needed to claim.
“We carried out an extensive campaign to raise awareness of the issue and will continue regular communications to get people to check their National Insurance record.”
