DWP Pension Back Payments Update: Who is entitled to it?

The DWP has confirmed that back payments worth up to £12,000 should be delivered this month. The DWP will secure payments to those individuals who have missed out on the cash they are owed only due to Legal Entitlements and Administrative Practice (LEAP) issues.

The DWP reviewed the underpaid cases and identified more than 119,050 pensioners who were underpaid, with an average pension arrears of £11,905.

DWP Pension arrears update

The DWP has recently released an update on its current efforts to secure payment of state pension arrears, with the average qualifying individual owing at least £12,000. The DWP also pledged that back payments worth up to £12,000 should be completed this month.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) provides pension arrears to those who are underpaid due to Legal Entitlements and Administrative Practice (LEAP) issues. A qualifying individual can expect to receive a maximum of £11,905.

It is estimated that more than 119,050 pensioners have been found to have underpaid their state pension arrears. According to the DWP, payments have already been delivered to all married and unmarried women (category BL), as well as the over 80s (category D).

When will you receive your DWP pension arrears?

The DWP continues to work of pension arrears and has recently issued a new update on this. The benefit amount is provided to all married women and individuals who are in a civil union (category BL) and those who are over 80 years old (category D).

According to an official statement, progress on revised ‘widower’ cases will resume before the end of 2024. This means that benefit payments for these individuals should be processed over the next three weeks.

The DWP has made it clear that more than 119,050 pensioners who were underpaid are now receiving a big payout to make up for what they lost. Individuals with insufficient National Insurance (NI) contributions to qualify for any basic state pension may be entitled to a pension through the NI contributions of their husband, spouse or civil partner.

Who is affected by the LEAP problem?

There are only three categories of individuals affected by the LEAP issue. These categories are discussed below.

Category BL (married or in a civil partnership): This category includes those individuals who are married or in a civil partnership and who already reached the age limit for the State Old Age Pension before 6 April 2016 and those who are also eligible for a category increase BL on your spouse’s National Insurance (NI) contributions.
Category B (widowers): Individuals who have been widowed and their state pension has not had increased amounts for which they are entitled to inherit from their deceased husband, spouse and civil partner.
Category D (over 80s): People who turn 80 and receive a basic state pension of around £85.00 in 2022/23. Once they meet the required residence conditions, they can become entitled to a Category D State Pension of £101.55 per week (weekly rate 2024-25).

DWP Underpaid Pension Information

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced plans to pay pension arrears to those underpaid due to LEAP issues.

As we know, there are three categories of individuals affected by LEAP problems.

The total number of underpaid reviewed cases, identified payments (made between January 2021 and September 2024), average arrears and total amount repaid for each category are listed below.

Married (category BL)