Asked by: Jack Dromey (Labour - Birmingham, Erdington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 2 July 2020 to Question 65109 on State Retirement Pensions: Females, what time limits apply to claiming previously underpaid state pension in cases where a female pensioner is now deceased.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The time limits are set out in The Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1987, regulation 30(6)(a), made pursuant to section 5(1)(q) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992. Successive governments have continued this policy.
Asked by: Jack Dromey (Labour - Birmingham, Erdington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria her Department uses to determine the circumstances in which interest is added to back payments of a state pension.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The DWP has a discretionary special payment scheme and the current criteria has been in place since 2012. If a benefit payment has been delayed DWP can consider a payment to recognise any erosion in the value of the money. Special payments for ‘interest’ are calculated using HMRC’s repayment interest rate.
Asked by: Jack Dromey (Labour - Birmingham, Erdington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether entitlement to a Category D pension requires a person to make a claim.
Answered by Guy Opperman
A claim for a Category D State Pension is required (under section 1 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992), unless the individual is resident in Great Britain at age 80 and is already getting another category of State Pension (Section 1 and Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1987, Regulation 3(1)(b)).
Asked by: Jack Dromey (Labour - Birmingham, Erdington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether a married woman is entitled to draw an immediate category BL pension when her husband reaches state pension age in cases where her husband has deferred taking his own pension.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Under The Pensions Act 2007 and The Social Security (State Pension and National Insurance Credits) Regulations 2009/2206, since 6 April 2010 where a husband has deferred claiming his State Pension, his spouse has been able to claim their State Pension Category BL top up from his State Pension age.
Asked by: Jack Dromey (Labour - Birmingham, Erdington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to use the Government’s administrative data to identify married women who are not receiving the level of state pension to which they are entitled; how many of those women have been identified; what the average value is of those backdated state pension payments, and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Guy Opperman
We are aware of a number of cases where individuals have been underpaid State Pension. We corrected our records and reimbursed those affected as soon as errors were identified.
We would encourage anyone who thinks they have failed to claim a State Pension increase they are eligible for to contact the department.
Asked by: Jack Dromey (Labour - Birmingham, Erdington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether a widow is entitled to claim back underpaid state pension for periods before she was widowed.
Answered by Guy Opperman
In circumstances where it is identified that individuals are entitled to arrears of underpaid State Pension, these are paid in accordance with relevant legislation (section 1 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992) if a claim to Category BL is required, and if a claim is not required Social Security ((Claims and Payments) Regs 1987, reg 3(cb)).
Any person seeking to claim can get assistance if they call The Pension Service on its Freephone number 0800 731 0469.