Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the 12 month limit for back-payments to those couples affected by the underpayment of their state pension where the wife of a man who turned 65 before 17 March 2008 did not initially make a claim for their basic pension.

Prior to 17 March 2008 a married woman who reached State Pension age could qualify for a Category BL basic State Pension based on her husband’s National Insurance contributions once he had reached State Pension age and claimed his State Pension, if she had insufficient National Insurance contributions herself to qualify for a basic State Pension.

Under section 1(1) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992, no one could be entitled to category BL without first having made a claim for it.

The law provides backdating for a maximum period of up to 12 months from when a claim is made. That remains the position today. There are no plans to change this.