£1 BILLION PENSION BOOST: The 5 Key Groups Of 400,000 People Owed Back Payments Of Up To £7,900
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is currently undertaking one of the largest administrative correction exercises in its history, directly resulting in a significant State Pension boost for hundreds of thousands of retirees. As of December 2025, the DWP has identified and begun to rectify systemic underpayments that have affected pensioners for decades, primarily women who retired under the old State Pension system.
This massive undertaking, known as the Legal Entitlements and Administrative Practice (LEAP) exercise, is focused on correcting historical errors that led to an estimated £1 billion in underpayments. The correction process has already seen over £730 million repaid to over 119,000 pensioners, with some individuals receiving back payments of up to £7,900 or more. This article breaks down the latest figures, the groups affected, and how the correction is providing a vital financial boost to the 400,000+ people involved.
The DWP's £1 Billion State Pension Correction Exercise: Who Is Getting the Boost?
The "boost" for the 400,000 people is not a new government policy but rather the rectification of long-standing calculation errors. These errors, which were a combination of computer system failures and human administrative mistakes, meant that many pensioners—particularly older women—were not having their State Pension automatically uplifted as they should have been based on their spouse's contributions.
The DWP's LEAP correction exercise has focused on identifying and compensating specific categories of pensioners who are most likely to have been underpaid. The primary focus is on those who reached State Pension age before April 6, 2016, and whose pension entitlements relied on the contributions of a husband, wife, or civil partner.
The Five Key Groups Receiving the State Pension Boost
The DWP has broken down the correction exercise into distinct categories, with the initial focus being on the most straightforward cases. The following five groups are the primary beneficiaries of the current correction exercise, with the DWP having completed the reviews for the first two categories as of late 2024:
- Married Women (Category BL): This is the largest group. It includes married women whose basic State Pension did not automatically increase to the required 60% of their husband's basic State Pension when their husband retired. The DWP has reviewed hundreds of thousands of these cases, with the average arrears payment for this category being approximately £5,553.
- Category D (Over 80s): This group includes people aged 80 and over who were entitled to a non-contributory Category D State Pension but were not receiving it. The DWP has also finished this part of the correction exercise.
- Widows and Widowers: Individuals whose State Pension did not reflect the full amount of inherited entitlement from a deceased spouse or civil partner. This is a complex area, as the entitlement can vary significantly based on the deceased's National Insurance (NI) contributions.
- Divorcees: People who may have been entitled to use their ex-spouse's NI record to increase their own State Pension entitlement but were not correctly advised or processed.
- Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) Errors: A new, secondary correction exercise began in January 2024 to address errors related to HRP. HRP was a scheme designed to protect the State Pension entitlement of parents and carers who stayed home. The DWP has identified thousands of underpayments in this area, with £104 million in arrears paid out for HRP errors between January 2024 and March 2025 alone.
The Latest Figures and Timeline for the Back Payments
The DWP's commitment to correcting these historical errors is a multi-year project. While the initial estimate was to review around 400,000 cases, the scope has expanded as the DWP and independent experts like Sir Steve Webb have identified further issues. The total bill for the underpayments is forecast to exceed £1 billion, a figure that highlights the scale of the administrative failure.
The process involves the DWP proactively contacting individuals they believe have been underpaid. Pensioners do not need to take any action unless they fall into a less common category, such as divorcees, where they may need to contact the DWP directly to have their case reviewed.
Key figures from the ongoing State Pension correction exercise (latest available data from late 2024/early 2025):
- Total Arrears Paid: Over £730 million.
- Total Underpayments Identified: Over 119,050 cases.
- Average Married Woman (Cat BL) Arrears Payment: £5,553.
- HRP Arrears Paid (Jan 2024 - Mar 2025): £104 million.
The DWP has stated its determination to complete the main LEAP exercise for the primary categories, but the new HRP exercise and the complexity of the remaining widow/divorcee cases mean the correction work is expected to continue throughout 2025 and possibly into 2026. This ongoing commitment ensures the financial security of the affected pensioners is restored.
Beyond the Correction: The Separate Campaign for 'Frozen' Pensions
While the DWP's LEAP exercise addresses underpayments due to administrative error, it is important to distinguish this from the separate, ongoing campaign for the "frozen" State Pensions. This issue affects over 400,000 British retirees who live overseas in certain countries, such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
A 'frozen' pension means the annual uprating, typically applied via the Triple Lock (which ensures the State Pension rises by the highest of inflation, average earnings growth, or 2.5%), is not applied. This leaves the pension at the same cash level it was when the individual first moved abroad or retired. Campaigners are calling on the UK Government to end this disparity, arguing it would cost the Treasury an estimated £63 million to unfreeze these payments and provide a substantial boost to these overseas retirees.
The campaign highlights a significant difference in treatment, as pensioners in certain countries (including the European Economic Area, the US, and the Philippines) continue to receive the annual Triple Lock increase. While the DWP correction is a righting of a past wrong, the 'frozen' pension campaign is a demand for a change in current policy, affecting a similar number of people but for a completely different reason. The debate around State Pension uprating, the Triple Lock mechanism, and the cost of living crisis remains a central political discussion point as the government looks towards future pension reviews.
What Pensioners Need to Do Now
The vast majority of people affected by the DWP's underpayment errors—specifically married women (Cat BL) and those over 80 (Cat D)—will be contacted directly by the DWP. If you fall into one of these categories and have not yet been contacted, you can wait for your letter. However, if you are a widow, widower, or divorcee who believes your State Pension is incorrect, or if you were a mother/carer who received Child Benefit before 2010 (and may be affected by the HRP error), it is advisable to contact the DWP's dedicated State Pension correction teams to ensure your case is reviewed promptly. This proactive step can secure the boost and back payment you are entitled to.
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