Full list of DWP benefit errors that can lead to refunds worth £1,000s – including PIP and state pension

The Sun

5 days ago

HOUSEHOLDS should be aware of these benefit errors that can lead to refunds worth £1,000's.
If the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) underpays you on a benefit you could be entitled to the money you are owed back.
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Vice versa, if you are over paid on a benefit you will need to give the money back or it could result in legal action.
This is the case even if you didn't notice and have spent it already.
Currently, claimants could be entitled to back payments on a number of benefits including the State Pension and Personal Independence Payments (PIP).
We explain who have been impacted below.
State Pension error
If you took time away from paid work to look after a child or someone with an illness, you could be owed money back.
The issue mainly impacts those carrying out caring duties between 1978 and 2010.
During this time, the government had a system in place to ensure people would still be paid the state pension if they took time out for these reasons.
This system was called Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) and it should have been automatically awarded to those claiming Child Benefit.
But an error in the system found that hundreds of thousands of people were left with gaps in their National Insurance records that should not be there.
Disability benefit explained - what you can claim
Those impacted have been underpaid on their state pension or could be in the future.
But the government has said that all issues related to the error should be resolved by March 2027.
How to claim
You might have received a letter if you are thought to be affected.
People can check their eligibility for backdated HRP and make a claim via https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-home-responsibilities-protection.
HMRC said the process takes around 15 minutes.
According to MoneySavingExpert, the average amount being paid out is more than £7,000.
PIP
Benefit claimants could be owed cash from the government after a PIP payment error.
What are state pension errors?
STEVE Webb, partner at LCP and former Pensions Minister, explains what state pension errors are and how they can occur:
The way state pensions are worked out is so complicated that many thousands of people have been paid the wrong amount for years without even realising it.
The amount of retirement pension you get usually depends on your National Insurance (NI) record.
One big source of errors has been cases where NI records have been incorrect, particularly for years spent at home with children.
This is a system known as 'Home Responsibilities Protection'.
Alternatively, particularly for older pensioners, the amount you get can depend on the NI contributions made by your spouse.
Errors have arisen where the Government has failed to adjust the pensions of married women when their husbands retired or failed to increase pensions when someone was bereaved and lost a husband or wife.
Although the Government has spent years trying to fix these problems, there are still many thousands of people – many of them older women – on the wrong pension.
If you have always thought that your pension seems low, then it is worth contacting the Pensions Service to ask them to check, especially if you spent time at home raising children or if you were widowed and your pension didn't change when your spouse died
A review was launched following a Supreme Court judgment in July 2019 that changed the way the DWP defines 'social support' in one of the assessed PIP categories.
Dubbed the "MM judgement", the DWP realised that hundreds of thousands could now be due additional support.
It means that people may not have been given one of the two elements of PIP when they were actually entitled to it.
Others may have been awarded the standard rate but should have received the enhanced rate, which is a higher amount.
It occurred after some people were given one of the two elements of PIP when they were actually entitled to it.
The DWP launched a review in 2021, looking at cases since 2016.
How to claim
An estimated 633,338 households are thought to be have been affected by the error.
The average payout works out at around £5,285 per claim, but you could get more or less.
One couple told The Sun they were left shell-shocked" after learning that they were due £12,000 in back payments.
The DWP tends to get in contact directly with claimants thought to be impacted.
New PIP error
The DWP has flagged two more errors relating to the benefits claim.
That includes PIP claimants without a National Insurance number not having their claims processed correctly, even though it is not needed to make a claim.
Up to £500,000 has been paid out to those impacted.
Elsewhere, The DWP has also paid out £13million to Scottish PIP claimants who mistakenly saw a "loss of entitlement" when they tried moving over to the Adult Disability Payment (ADP).
How do I appeal a PIP decision?
If you've been contacted by the DWP or think you are affected by the MM judgement, you'll need to appeal your PIP decision.
If you think a PIP decision was wrong, you can challenge it.
If you've been contacted by the DWP or think your PIP payments may be affected by the MM judgment, you should ask for a "mandatory reconsideration notice".
This is where the DWP looks at your claim decision again.
If you are still unhappy with this outcome, you can then appeal to an independent tribunal.
You must send your appeal form within one month of the date shown on the mandatory reconsideration notice.
Be aware that it usually takes up to six months for an appeal to be heard by the tribunal.
Before it gets to the tribunal, the DWP can make a revision to the original claim.
If you're unhappy with the decision you get from the tribunal, you may also be able to get the decision cancelled - known as "set aside". You'll be told how to do this at the time.
Another option is to appeal to the Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber) if you think the tribunal wasn't able to give you proper reasons for its decision, or back up the decision with facts, or if it failed to apply the law properly.
Full details about challenging your PIP decisions can be found on gov.uk.