Hundreds of retirees could be sitting on a "pensions goldmine" which Britons could miss out on if they do not respond to letters from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Former pensions minister and LCP partner Sir Steve Webb has discovered 1,859 people received letters at the end of July 2024 from the Government department informing them about potential state pension underpayments to late spouses or partners which have yet to be replied to.
The retirement expert is sounding the alarm that this money will continue to go unclaimed unless pensioners respond directly to the DWP's letter.
Most of these cases involve an individual who has passed away who was a widow/widower and the department now believes they have been underpaid their state pension amount.
Some 1,671 letters have been delivered to next of kin regarding likely pension payments but the DWP has yet to hear back from households.
Furthermore, 131 letters have been sent to cases where a married woman's low retirement income was not automatically rise once her husband retired.
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Britons are being urged to respond to letters from the DWP
GETTYFinally, 57 cases involve state pension underpayment to Britons over the age of 80, according to the DWP.
The Government department have been confirmed that they are only able to calculate the sum once they receive a reply to their letters.
In previous years, pension underpayments have ranged from a few pounds to over £100,000.
These DWP letters are often received "out of the blue" and many Britons do not realise why they are important.
Notably, any underpaid pension will be kept by the Government if the DWP is not able to find a deceased claimant's next of kin.
Sir Steve urged anyone who has received a DWP letter to get back to the Government as soon as possible.
He explained: "We know that well over 100,000 people were underpaid state pensions and DWP has spent more than three years trying to track them down.
"In thousands of cases, the person who was underpaid is sadly no longer with us, but their heirs should still benefit from any underpayment.
"Although not all underpayments are large, in some cases people have received £100,000 or more, so the recipients of these letters could be sitting on a pensions goldmine.
"If you have received a letter from DWP about a potential underpayment to a loved one, I would urge you to respond as soon as possible"
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Claimants are encouraged to contact DWP if they believe they have been affected by underpayments
GETTYRecently, LCP launched a new tool to assist widows and widowers in finding out if they are getting paid the correct amount of the state pension.
This comes after it was revealed that the DWP had made new errors on recent state pension claims.
According to Sir Steve, individuals impacted by the errors were Britons claiming the new state pension who were already widowed once they retired.
The ex-pensions minister reached out to four separate people who had not received any inherited state pension once they retired; all of whom were informed they were entitled despite in fact being eligible.
