More than 200,000 people could be owed thousands of pounds in state pension back payments due to an HMRC error, a BBC finance expert has said. Iona Bain, appearing on BBC Morning Live, explained that the issue stems from the Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) scheme, which ran from 1978 to 2010.
How the HRP scheme worked
The scheme was designed to protect the pension rights of parents and carers who took time off work. "It was a government scheme that was designed to solve a problem that could potentially crop up whereby folks who took time out of work to look after children or relatives who were ill or disabled might find that they had gaps in their national insurance record," Ms Bain said.
The HRP problem affected parents, mostly women, who took time out of work when they had children, as well as people who took time off to care for sick relatives.
Why entitlements were missed
The issue arose because people claiming child benefit after 2000 needed to include their National Insurance number on forms for HRP eligibility to be logged. Many did not know this was required, meaning their entitlements were not registered.
Money expert Martin Lewis highlighted one case where a listener received £31,674 in back payments. He said women aged 41-90 who had children before May 2000 and took career breaks could be affected.
Urgent advice for claimants
"It's worth checking, it's huge money, these mainly women have been done over by a system error," Mr Lewis warned. Ms Bain urged people to spread the word, saying there is still time to apply for missing HRP payments.
