Don’t ignore DWP letters as you could be owed big backpayments, urges advice charity

• Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire wants to flag findings from the firm LCP
• These show more than 1,800 could be owed pensions backpayments but have not replied to letters from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
• Underpayments could range from a few pounds to more than £100,000

People who have received letters from the Government stating they may be owed pensions backpayments should not ignore them – as they could be owed money.

This is the message Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire wants to send out in the wake of findings of former Pensions Minister Steve Webb, now of consultancy LCP.

LCP has published an FOI response showing 1,859 people have received letters from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) letting them know they may be owed underpayments of state pension to their late parents or spouses – but have not responded to their letters.

This means they are potentially losing out on significant amounts of money as the DWP believes it may have underpaid their late partner or parent.

Mr Webb has said not all underpayments are large but in some cases people have received £100,000 or more.

The organization Saga which supports over 50s says the reasons for the underpayments can include issues with logging National Insurance contributions and problems with people receiving pension payment uplifts at the right time.

There are an estimated 133,000 people affected by the underpayments in total, and 99,558 underpayments had been identified and paid (a total of £594m) by March 2024.

But 1,859 people have been contacted and not so far responded – leading to the charity’s call for people to reply urgently if they have received a letter from the DWP about this.

Come to Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire

Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire is available to help anyone who has received a letter and is unsure on what to do next.

Contact the charity at its drop-ins across South Gloucestershire or call the free Adviceline on 0808 278 7947 between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday excluding Bank Holidays.

Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire’s Chief Executive Officer Chantal Watts said: “We were concerned to hear there may be people out there who are owed money due to underpayments to their late partner or parent.

“We want to flag the issue and let people know they can come to us if they have received a letter and need help deciding what to do next.

“We know people have to be very vigilant about scam letters today but this is a scenario where people could be missing out on a significant amount by not responding.”