Money-saving expert Martin Lewis has issued an urgent alert to all women aged 41 to 90 who have children, warning that they could be owed substantial sums from HMRC due to a longstanding state pension error. The financial guru stated on his BBC Podcast that anyone who stopped working to care for children or a disabled relative between 1978 and 2010 may have been short-changed, potentially missing out on thousands of pounds.
HMRC stops contacting affected individuals
Lewis highlighted that HMRC has decided to cease writing to those potentially impacted, meaning individuals must now take the initiative and pursue claims themselves. He said: "This is about a state pension error. The government was contacting them but then Steve Webb, former pensions minister, got in touch and said 'they've stopped contacting them - they're no longer trying to rectify this.'"
Who is affected?
The issue could affect anyone who stopped working to care for a child or someone with a long-term disability during a 32-year span from 1978 to 2010. Lewis explained: "From 1978 to 2010 the government had a system called Home Responsibilities Protection. It should have been awarded automatically to those claiming child benefit or income support while caring for someone with a long-term illness."
He noted that women currently aged between 41 and 90 are most likely to be affected, particularly those in their 60s and 70s. However, anyone who took time away from paid work to look after a child or a person with a long-term disability at any point between 1978 and 2010, and who claimed child benefit or income support for the first time before May 2000, should check their records.
Potential payout
Lewis referenced listener Cilla, who received £31,674 in back pay for 15 years of underpaid state pension. He advised: "You go onto Gov.uk, find your state pension forecast and check if you're entitled to the full state pension years. If not, look for gaps in your National Insurance record from 1978 to 2010. Those gaps may be missing Home Responsibilities Protection."
He concluded: "It's worth checking, it's huge money. These mainly women have been done over by a system error."
