DWP Confirms £8300 Average Pension Underpayment for Women – Check If You’re One of Them

In a shocking revelation, thousands of older women across the United Kingdom have discovered they may be owed significant back payments on their State Pension.
According to government data, the average repayment amount is £8,300, though some women are set to receive tens of thousands of pounds.

This comes after the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) uncovered long-standing calculation errors that left many women underpaid for years—sometimes decades. For those affected, the payouts represent not just financial relief, but long-overdue recognition of the injustice they’ve faced.

Who Has Been Affected by the Underpayments

The errors predominantly affect women who reached State Pension age before April 2016—under the old pension system, which was far more complex than today’s.

The groups most commonly affected include:

• Married women whose State Pension did not automatically rise to 60% of their husband’s basic pension after he retired.
• Widows who should have inherited a larger share of their late husband’s pension.
• Divorced women entitled to use their ex-husband’s National Insurance record for a higher rate.
• Over-80s eligible for a non-contributory pension top-up who were never awarded it.

For some, these errors span 20 to 30 years, meaning they’ve lived much of their retirement on less money than they were entitled to.

How the Pension Errors Happened

The DWP has attributed the underpayments to a combination of outdated systems, manual record-keeping, and miscommunication.

Prior to 2016, many pension adjustments relied on paper-based records and manual updates. In theory, increases—such as those for married women—were supposed to occur automatically. In practice, however, this didn’t always happen.

In other cases, women were expected to submit separate claims for higher pensions but were never informed of this requirement. The result was a systemic failure that left many women unknowingly underpaid for years.

According to the Public Accounts Committee, these oversights reflect “serious administrative failings” and highlight how poor communication and outdated technology led to widespread financial injustice.

How Much Money Women Are Owed

The average repayment amount stands at £8,300, but the sums vary dramatically depending on personal circumstances:

• Some women will receive £1,000 to £3,000, mainly for short-term errors.
• Many are receiving £8,000 to £10,000, reflecting years of consistent underpayment.
• A number of widows and long-term underpaid pensioners have been awarded £30,000–£40,000 or more.

The government has already allocated billions of pounds to address these underpayments through the State Pension Underpayment Correction Exercise, which began in 2021.

Crucially, these back payments are not means-tested—they do not depend on income or savings, and all affected individuals are legally entitled to receive their due funds.

How the DWP Is Correcting the Mistakes

The DWP launched a dedicated review process—officially known as the State Pension Underpayment Correction Exercise—in early 2021.

Under this initiative, thousands of pension records are being reviewed manually by DWP staff. Women identified as underpaid will receive:

• An official letter explaining the error and detailing the recalculated amount.
• A corrected pension rate, ensuring future payments are accurate.
• A lump-sum back payment, covering the entire period of underpayment.

The process is ongoing and expected to continue into 2026 due to the vast number of cases. As of mid-2025, tens of thousands of women have already received compensation, but thousands more remain under review.

What You Should Do If You Think You’re Owed

If you suspect you’ve been underpaid, there are steps you can take right now:

• Check your pension statements – Compare your current payment with what you believe you should be receiving based on your marital or contribution history.
• Use online calculators – Several reliable pension calculators can help estimate your correct entitlement.
• Contact the Pension Service – You can call or write to the DWP to request a formal review of your pension record.
• Seek independent advice – Charities such as Age UK and the Pensions Advisory Service can help you understand your rights.

Importantly, you do not need to pay a claims company to do this for you. The review process is free through official channels.

Real Stories: Life-Changing Back Payments

Across the UK, stories are emerging of women whose lives have changed dramatically due to these repayments:

• A widow in her 70s from Kent received £38,500, after decades of unknowingly being underpaid.
• A divorced woman from Manchester discovered she was owed £12,000, allowing her to finally clear long-standing debts.
• Another pensioner described receiving £9,800 as “a miracle” that helped her afford heating, groceries, and medical expenses.

While many welcome the repayments, there is also sadness that some affected women have passed away before being compensated. In such cases, their families may still be eligible to claim the owed funds.

The Wider Impact on Trust in the Pension System

The scandal has damaged public confidence in the UK pension system, especially among older women who already faced inequality in retirement income.

The Public Accounts Committee criticised the DWP for being too slow to identify and correct the mistakes. It also pointed out that such large-scale errors would have been preventable with modernised systems and better oversight.

Campaigners have called for greater transparency and proactive communication, arguing that pensioners should never have to discover underpayments by chance.

Lessons for Future Pensioners

Although the issue primarily affects those who retired before 2016, it offers important lessons for future pensioners:

• New digital systems introduced under the New State Pension are expected to minimise human error.
• Pension records are now more integrated with National Insurance contributions, allowing for automatic updates.
• The DWP has pledged to review processes regularly and improve training for staff handling pension cases.

However, campaigners insist that pensioners must continue to verify their statements and entitlements rather than assume all records are correct.

Will Everyone Affected Receive Compensation?

In principle, yes. The DWP has stated that all underpaid pensioners will be repaid once identified. However, due to the scale of the review, some cases may take longer to process.

For deceased pensioners, spouses or surviving family members can still claim the money owed. Families are urged to contact the Pension Service if they believe a late relative was affected.

Staying Updated on the Pension Review

The government regularly publishes updates about the Underpayment Correction Exercise. These updates outline:

• The number of people identified as underpaid.
• The total value of repayments made to date.
• The progress of ongoing investigations.

You can follow the latest developments via:

• Gov.uk – Official DWP updates
• Pension Advisory Service website
• Age UK and other retirement support organisations
• National news outlets reporting on pension policy

Staying informed ensures you can act quickly if new information affects your entitlement.

FAQs

Q1. Who is eligible for the State Pension back payments?
Women who reached State Pension age before April 2016 and fall into specific categories—such as married, widowed, divorced, or over-80s—may qualify for back payments.

Q2. How much are affected women owed on average?
The average amount is around £8,300, though some women are receiving as much as £40,000, depending on how long they were underpaid.

Q3. Do I need to apply to receive the back payment?
No. The DWP is contacting eligible individuals directly. However, you can contact the Pension Service if you believe you’ve been missed.

Q4. How far back will the payments go?
The DWP is reviewing decades of pension records, and women are being repaid for every year they were underpaid, regardless of how long ago the error occurred.

Q5. What if the pensioner has died?
In cases where the pensioner has passed away, spouses or surviving family members can still claim the owed amount by contacting the Pension Service directly.