What is the state pension triple lock?

The state pension triple lock is the promise that the UK's state pension will always rise each year at least in line with the higher of inflation, average wage growth or 2.5%. It's a win-win-win for state pensioners – they always get the highest of the three “locks” – if not for taxpayers. The idea was to address pensioner poverty. From the 1980s to the 2000s, the state pension rose solely in line with price inflation, and in an age of decent wage growth, that meant pensions fell well behind earnings (from 26% of the average wage to just 16% by the 2000s). In 2011, the pension triple lock was introduced to slowly steer state pensions back into line with rises in national living standards.

Has the pension triple lock worked?

Broadly, yes. The state pension triple lock has nudged up the real value of pensions to the point where they are a decent safety net for low earners and a good base for the better-off. It now sits at £241.30 per week (for those qualifying since 2016; or £184.90 for those on the previous system). Since 2011, state pensions have risen 89% in nominal terms. If they'd risen solely in line with inflation, they'd have gone up only 60%, or 66% if in line with wage growth. The UK's (new) state pension of £12,548 a year is not generous compared with some, but it has done its job in helping the state pension keep up with earnings. It is now about 30% of full-time median earnings.

Is the state pension triple lock good for pensioners?

Indeed yes, and not just for the poorest. If a 66-year-old wanted an annuity escalating at 2.5% to 5% a year – a proxy for the pension triple lock – it would cost £215,000-£283,000, says Jonathan Guthrie in the Financial Times. By comparison, the median level of private pension wealth in the 65-74 age band is £146,000. It's unsurprising that the state pension accounts for the bulk of poorer pensioners' income. And only 12% of households rely solely on the state pension. But the really striking thing, says Guthrie, is that even among the richest fifth of UK pensioners, it accounts for almost 30% of single incomes and 16% for couples after housing costs. It's not just nice to have, it's a basic plank of retirement planning for all but the properly wealthy.

How secure is the pension triple lock?

The government has wriggled out of the pension triple lock only once. After the Covid-19 pandemic, as the furlough scheme unwound and employment jumped, average wage growth was 8.4%, dwarfing the CPI level of 3.1%. Few people begrudged the government's decision to simply pause the lock that year and use inflation instead due to the exceptional circumstances. The following year, though, there was an almost equally massive differential again, but this time the other way round – and the government didn't intervene. In 2022 the post-pandemic inflationary shock was at its height, and in April 2023 pensioners enjoyed a hefty 10.1% rise when wage growth was at 5.4%. It is this kind of exceptional year that has had a disproportionate impact on the fiscal impact of the triple-lock policy – and makes it unsustainable in the long run.

Is the pension triple lock sustainable?

According to the Office for Budget Responsibility, the pension triple lock has pushed up spending on the state pension so that it now costs the government £12 billion more each year (and rising to £15.5 billion by 2030) compared with uprating solely in line with average earnings. Overall, the state pension costs an estimated £146 billion a year in 2025, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, which reckons the triple lock could see that grow by another £40 billion annually (in today's terms) by 2050. That matters not just from a budgetary point of view, but in terms of long-term planning as the retired cohort grows and the working-age population shrinks. The cost of the basic state pension, currently 5% of GDP, is set to rise to 8% to 10% over the next four decades. The volatility of the current regime is “insane”, says Tom Calver in The Sunday Times – making it impossible for policymakers to project the true long-term cost.

Why hasn't the pension triple lock been scrapped already?

A bit like the winter-fuel allowance (1997), or inheritance-tax relief on pension pots (2015), the pension triple lock has assumed such totemic significance in the national discourse that one might think it was a permanent feature of the British constitution. Politicians know that it's fiscally unsustainable and admit as much once they are safely out of office. But they are scared of fiddling with it because they fear the backlash from the people most likely to vote – pensioners. Reform UK, which had pledged to abolish it on grounds of fiscal sustainability, recently U-turned, bringing them into line with Labour, Tories and Lib Dems. Oddly, it is only the Greens – the party of fiscal incontinence and wishful thinking – who have a modestly sensible policy of ending the lock (by dropping the 2.5% bit). It's no coincidence that the left-populist party is overwhelmingly supported by young voters and rarely by the elderly.

What is the future of the pension triple lock?

Raising the pension age is one way of cutting costs, but is contentious. The loss of a year of state pension is a huge deal if you are poor with a lower life expectancy, while rich people are left (if they are lucky) to enjoy an indexed state pension into their 90s. Another idea, means-testing indexation, would be technically very complex. So a more likely reform would be either a double-lock to the higher of earnings or inflation or a simple link to earnings. Heidi Karjalainen of the IFS proposes an Australian-style “smoothed earnings link”, where the government sets a permanent target level for the pension as a share of average earnings. The pension is then uprated each year by whichever measure that keeps it on track to hit that proportion. Whatever happens, state pensions will be less generous in future so invest what you can and “rely on the state as little as possible”, says Guthrie. “It is big, clumsy and it cares a lot less about your financial wellbeing than you do.”

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The state pension is meant to be straightforward: if you've made at least 35 years of national-insurance contributions, you'll qualify for the full amount of the benefit, currently worth £230.25 a week. However, hundreds of thousands of people are discovering that this often isn't true – they're in line to receive less than the full amount because of how they saved for retirement decades ago.

The confusion stems from a major shake-up of the state pension that took effect in 2016. Before the changes, many people were entitled to two types of retirement benefit from the state – the basic state pension and an additional payment related to their earnings, earned through the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme (Serps) or the State Second Pension (S2P). Now, anyone reaching state pension age after 6 April 2016 receives this benefit. But when Serps and S2P were still running, working people had the option of “contracting out” of these schemes via a private pension. They paid less national insurance, with cash rebated into private pensions.

Contracted out? You may not qualify for the full state pension

You may have actively chosen to contract out via an individual plan such as a stakeholder or personal pension. Or, you may have been contracted out automatically through your workplace pension scheme – many employers, particularly in the public sector, did this as a matter of course. Either way, your national-insurance contributions record will have been affected. And because you contracted out, you may not have enough full years of contributions to qualify for the full amount of the state pension.

The first step is to get a state pension forecast – you can do this online at the gov.uk site. If you're not on track for the full amount, despite working throughout your adult years, or receiving national-insurance credits for periods of caring, there's a good chance it's because you were contracted out for a period. You may have no memory of this – information on contracting out was often buried in the small print.

You haven't necessarily lost out. Those rebates were channelled into your private pension, which you'll be entitled to claim when you retire. The income that the rebates will generate may well be worth more than what you're missing out on from the state pension. However, that assumes you've stayed on top of your pensions. Many people have lost touch with savings they built up many years ago. It's vital that you trace every pension you've contributed to, so that you claim all the income you're owed. Facilities such as the Pension Tracing Service, also at gov.uk, can help.

It may also be possible to top up your national insurance contributions so that you qualify for the full state pension on top of your private savings. You can't top up for the years in which you were contracted out – these count as full years since you were saving elsewhere – but if you have other missing years on your national insurance record, you can replace these.

In theory, you can buy up to six years' worth of additional national insurance contributions; the cost of doing so varies according to which specific years you're buying back. Doing so could boost your state pension by several hundred pounds each year. However, topping up doesn't make sense in all circumstances – you may need financial advice to help you crunch the numbers.

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The government is hoping that the creation of pension mega funds could boost the UK economy and reduce fees for investors, but experts warn that risks remain.

New pension reform legislation currently going through parliament aims to shake up the way defined contribution (DC) schemes invest.

The Pension Schemes Bill wants to create mega funds that merge smaller multi-employer schemes, known as master trusts. The Bill is currently going through Parliament.

The idea is that these will invest in assets such as infrastructure to boost the UK economy.

The legislation also requires these master trusts to be a minimum scale of £25 billion by 2030 and threatens to ‘mandate’ them to invest in British private investment markets if they don’t meet a minimum threshold.

The Bill also creates a ‘value for money’ framework designed to help trustees assess how a scheme is performing and to force the consolidation of smaller schemes.

The Treasury claims that the move to pension mega funds - inspired by the success of similar schemes in Australia - will give savers a 0.06% reduction in fees.

But a new report from former pension minister Steve Webb, now a partner at consultancy LCP, compiled with Frontier Economics warns that these interventions could actually impact the performance of pension schemes, ultimately reducing returns for savers.

Here are the main concerns raised about the government’s pension reforms.

Master trust changes

There are around 30 master trusts in the UK.

These make it easier for employers to set up a scheme by just joining one that works for several companies at once.

The government is looking to force consolidation by stating that the main default fund in a master trust should be at least £25 billion by 2030.

The aim is to create a smaller group of larger master trusts that can then help fund UK economic projects.

This is inspired by the success of superannuation schemes in Australia, where the largest providers have assets worth hundreds of billions.

In contrast, big multi-employer schemes in the UK such as NEST have assets of £50 billion.

But the report warns that the overall impact may be marginal given that the DC master trust market is already relatively concentrated.

It adds that it takes time to build scale and the mandatory Australian system has been around since the 1990s, while auto-enrolment and the rise of DC schemes only started in the UK in 2012.

Webb said: “We need to move away from spurious comparisons with the pension systems of other countries when deciding what is right for the UK.

“The Australian DC system in particular is currently far larger and far more mature than the UK system and this will inevitably lead to a different investment mix compared with the UK’s smaller master trust sector.”

Investing in private markets

The legislation includes a reserve power for the government to mandate how master trusts invest, with an aim to boost private UK investment markets - known as productive finance.

But the report warns that smaller pensions face barriers to being able to do this due to a lack of public information .

The paper argues that there is no clear case either for the government to override the judgments of trustees acting in the interest of members or for setting arbitrary top-down targets.

Webb added: “The UK investment mix will in any case shift rapidly in the coming years, as UK DC schemes grow rapidly, and the government should not be in the business of over-riding trustee decisions to impose what it thinks is the right answer.”

Value for money framework

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and The Pensions Regulator (TPR) have published proposals aimed at encouraging workplace pension schemes to improve their performance.

Under the proposed changes, pension schemes will need to publish clear data on their performance, costs and quality of service based on a ratings system giving each a Value for Money score.

If a pension is deemed to offer poor value, firms and trustees must then fix it by moving staff to better schemes or by making improvements.

But the report warns that ‘league tables’ could be counterproductive, leading to ‘herding’ of investment strategies with schemes reluctant to step away from the pack’ and innovate.”

Paul Johnson, senior adviser at Frontier Economics, said: “We need a rigorous framework to assess value for money, making sure that interventions are laser-targeted on areas where market forces alone will not deliver the right outcomes.

“The appropriate interventions will depend on the specific market failures we need to tackle and not on some arbitrary top-down target.

"Governments should act with great humility for fear of reducing the value of people’s pensions.”

Steve Webb was a guest on the MoneyWeek Talks podcast, where he discussed the state pension triple lock, using pensions for property, and more.

Millions of pensioners and savers may have received an unexpected tax bill over the summer from HMRC, under the taxman’s simple assessment system.

Frozen tax thresholds mean more of people’s earnings and savings interest are pushing people into higher tax brackets.

Any untaxed income or savings interest is usually reported to HMRC automatically through pay-as-you-earn or through self-assessment.

Some people don’t typically earn enough or fit the criteria for PAYE or self-assessment, such as if you don’t have a job, are retired and don’t run your own business.

However, rising state pension payments and higher savings interest are pushing more people over their tax allowances.

In some cases, the only way for HMRC to get the tax owed, if someone doesn’t fit the criteria to regularly file a tax return, is through simple assessment.

The taxman has sent 1.4 million simple assessment letters to people who owe money over the past month.

Many may be confused by the letters and not believe it is from HMRC.

But HMRC’s chief customer officer Myrtle Lloyd says it is important to not ignore it, adding: “If a letter drops on your mat – or appears in your online Personal Tax Account – you’ve been sent it for a reason. Anyone who receives a simple assessment letter and wants to find out more is encouraged to go online to GOV.UK, where there’s plenty of guidance to help."

Here is what you need to know.

What is simple assessment?

The simple assessment system is designed to simplify payments for those with relatively straightforward tax affairs who may owe money to HMRC.

The letters are usually sent if your income exceeds the personal allowance and the unpaid tax cannot be collected automatically through pay as you earn (PAYE) or self-assessment.

Simple assessment letters are automatically generated and sent to customers when HMRC receives information about a customer’s income. This information can come from a number of sources including employers, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), banks, building societies and financial institutions.

There is no fixed income threshold that automatically triggers a simple assessment.

HMRC generally issues them when a person owes more than £3,000 in unpaid income tax and is not already in self-assessment, if tax cannot be collected through PAYE, such as from the state pension, or if HMRC believes it has enough information to calculate the tax due accurately.

Critics say it creates unnecessary and annoying administration for the public.

Eamonn Prendergast, chartered financial adviser for Palantir Financial Planning, said: “For many, it’s their first encounter with self-assessment, and the experience is confusing, stressful, and outdated. Letters often land without warning, phone lines mean hours on hold, and you can’t even email HMRC; a 20th century system for a 21st century problem.

“This isn’t just fiscal drag; it’s administrative drag too. Unless thresholds are unfrozen, more ordinary people will face surprise tax bills, the risk of paying the wrong amount, and unnecessary stress.”

He said people can protect themselves by checking tax codes and keeping records, adding: “But fundamentally this is a problem created by policy, not by savers.”

Why have I received a simple assessment letter?

The simple assessment letter should provide you with an assessment of any tax you owe and how it was calculated.

It shows in detail where any additional income has come from. Income may come from a number of sources including savings, a second job, paying too little tax as well as income from pension.

If you believe the assessment is wrong, you need to get in touch with HMRC within 60 days to raise a query.

Rob Mansfield, independent financial adviser at Rootes Wealth, said: "Nobody likes getting a letter from HMRC.

"For a long time interest was so paltry that it was difficult to gain more than the threshold. Higher interest rates and tighter allowances mean that more people are now affected. If you get a bill, check it and make sure it's right as HMRC do make mistakes. If you don't want a bill in future years, make sure you use things like your ISA allowance to shield your money from the taxman.”

How to pay a simple assessment tax bill

The quickest way to pay is by using the secure HMRC app or through your Personal Tax Account.

Payments can also be taken via GOV.UK, by bank transfer, by cheque or over the telephone using the contact number in your letter. A full list of payment methods can be found on GOV.UK.

But watch out for HMRC tax return scams.

Lloyd added: "Simple assessment may well provide criminals with an opportunity to attempt to commit fraud. The only way HMRC will contact simple assessment customers is via a letter or through their Personal Tax Account.

“Criminals use phishing and scam emails, phone calls and texts to try to steal information and money from taxpayers.

“Customers should never share personal details including their HMRC sign-in details.”

The payment deadline for the 2024/25 tax year is 31 January 2026, similar to the online self-assessment deadline, unless customers are given an alternative date in their letter.

Simple assessment payments can be made in full, or in instalments, before the deadline.

The government’s review of the state pension age will explore whether it should automatically increase in line with rising life expectancy, potentially pushing the state pension age up to 70.

Launched in August, the review into the state pension age will assess the "merits" of implementing automatic adjustments to strengthen government finances, as well as looking at how the state pension age can manage “the long-term sustainability of the state pension”.

The government has set up a “call for evidence” as part of it, encouraging individuals and organisations to give their views. If you want to have your say on possible changes to the state pension age, you’ll need to be quick as the deadline to respond is 24 October.

Dr Suzy Morrissey, who is leading the review, notes that the impact of decisions around state pension age are “far-reaching”.

She comments: “Most of us will expect to receive at least some state pension once we reach state pension age.

“I have been asked to make recommendations on a framework that the secretary of state can use when considering future state pension age arrangements, in light of the long-term demographic pressures the country faces.”

The state pension age is currently 66 for men and women. It is due to rise to 67 between 2026 and 2027, and to 68 in 2044 to 2046.

The review will examine the experience of other countries that already automatically link payments to life expectancy, including Denmark, which recently raised its retirement age to 70 – this will kick in by 2040.

Denmark has tied the official retirement age to life expectancy since 2006 and is one of nine OECD countries to do so.

David Pye, a client consulting director at the financial services consultancy Broadstone, calls the review “a critical step in laying out the long-term future of this hugely important core benefit for retirees to aid their individual planning”.

He adds: “With an ageing population, previous governments have almost exclusively used an increasing state pension age to control costs – especially at a time of creaking public finances. If the age is increased or the amount provided is reduced or means-tested, it will reiterate the need for urgent reform in the private savings landscape to ensure adequate incomes at retirement.”

In July, the government revived the Pensions Commission in a bid to tackle the “retirement crisis that risks tomorrow’s pensioners being poorer than today’s”. It warns that too many working-age adults (45%) save nothing at all into a pension.

What is the state pension age review?

This is the third state pension age review. The second one was published in March 2023 by Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government.

By law, the government must review the age at which people can claim the state pension every six years.

The current review launched a call for evidence in August. Anyone who wants to respond must do so by 24 October.

Responses, which should address questions set out in the call for evidence, can be emailed to Independent.StatePensionAgeReport@dwp.gov.uk or sent by post. There are more details on gov.uk.

Morrissey comments: “My report must include the key factors government should consider in determining state pension age for future decades. This includes the merits of linking state pension age to life expectancy, the role of state pension age in managing the long-term sustainability of the state pension, and the international experience of automatic adjustment mechanisms for making decisions about state pension age.”

The report will also look at fairness between generations, as well as the groups of people, regions or nations that may be most impacted by changes to the state pension age.

In addition to Morrissey’s report, the Government Actuary’s Department will prepare a report examining the latest life expectancy data, providing advice on the proportion of adult life in retirement and whether the current legislative timings for the state pension age rising to 68 should change.

The government will consider both of these reports when deciding the state pension age in future; however, it does not have to accept any of the recommendations.

Will the state pension age rise?

Changing the state pension age is an emotive issue. Workers are often dismayed when the age goes up and they have to work for longer before they can claim the state pension.

It’s also a contentious one. The Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) group has been campaigning for years about how a badly-communicated increase in the state pension age impacted many women born in the 1950s, leaving them little time to prepare financially.

The review could agree with the current timetable at which the state pension age will rise to 67 and then 68. Or, it could suggest the increases are accelerated (or possibly slowed down). It may also recommend further age increases, such as to 69 or even 70.

And, as mentioned, it could suggest a new mechanism is put in place, automatically hiking the state pension age whenever life expectancy improves.

In May, Denmark passed a law giving it the highest retirement age in Europe, raising it to 70 by 2040.

The Danish approach caps the amount of time someone can spend claiming state support, legislating that an average of 14.5 years should be spent in retirement. This means the retirement age rises by one year for every year life expectancy increases.

However, experts say bringing in automatic state pension age increases linked to life expectancy could cause “chaos” to people’s retirement plans, while there could be a steep rise in poverty and inequality among older people.

Steve Webb, partner at pension consultants LCP and a former pensions minister, comments: “Having a completely automatic formula to move from changes in life expectancy to changes in state pension age could cause chaos for people’s financial planning.”

Catherine Foot, director of the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement, adds: “Using average life expectancy as the yardstick with which to determine the state pension age inevitably increases inequality and poverty among the pre-retirement population, since it moves the state pension age further away for people who have fallen out of work and are struggling to get back in.”

Regardless of any mechanism to link the state pension age to life expectancy, there will be temptation for the review to suggest some sort of changes to try and reduce the ballooning cost of providing a state pension in this country.

According to the Department for Work and Pensions, forecast expenditure on the state pension in 2025-2026 is £146 billion. Accounting for inflation, this figure has increased by 19% over the past 10 years and 70% over the past 20 years.

Stephen Lowe at retirement specialist Just Group comments: “As a result of rising longevity and dropping birth rates, it is estimated that a quarter of the UK’s population will be aged 65 or older by 2050. This means the burden of funding the state pension will fall on a shrinking proportion of working people.

“If the government wants to avoid increasing taxes or means-testing the state pension then it may have to look at options either to increase the age at which people receive the state pension or to moderate the amount paid.”

The state pension triple lock, which guarantees the state pension is uprated annually by inflation, earnings or 2.5% (whichever is highest), is forecast to cost a massive £15.5 billion a year by 2030, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility.

Lily Megson-Harvey, policy director at My Pension Expert, says the state pension age review must “carefully consider the impact that raising the age further could have on millions of savers and how to help people engage with their pension options”.

She notes: “Not everyone can simply work for longer. It could also disproportionately impact those who are already struggling to save enough and often rely more heavily on the state pension for financial security in retirement.”

The Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement echoes this point. Its research shows that a quarter of people in their early sixties now live in poverty, and many more are unable to work due to poor health or caring responsibilities. About 40% of 60-65 year olds have less than £3,000 in savings, and will struggle if they have to wait longer for the state pension, it argues.

Foot comments: “Raising the state pension age may ease pressure on the public finances in the short term, but it risks deepening inequality and hardship for those least able to work for longer. The review must strike a fair balance between sustainability and support, recognising the realities people face and protecting the financial security of those approaching retirement.”

If you're off track with your retirement savings goals, then  could the the 1% pension rule could help you fill the gap?

The widening gender pensions gap is mostly hitting women’s retirement pots who are more likely to take career breaks to care for children or elderly relatives and this affects how much they can save for retirement.

Aside from changing societal expectations, research by Fidelity International suggests that by increasing their workplace pension contributions by as little as 1%, women could gain up to an extra £37,000 in retirement even if they take a career break.

PENSION CONSEQUENCES OF A CAREER BREAK

Women already face retiring with a smaller pension pot than male counterparts - even without a career break.

Based on the Office for National Statistics' average earnings figures and adjusting for inflation and investment growth, the average pot at retirement for a woman paying in the minimum 8% into their workplace pension over 40 years without a career break is £306,377 compared with £453,616 for men, according to Fidelity.

This gap is widened if women choose or need to take career breaks to raise children or care for older relatives.

Analysis by Fidelity International shows that a woman aged 31– the average age to start a family – putting 8% into their workplace pension, could see their pension pot fall by more than £25,000 if they take a two-year career break to care for their children.

 "Time taken off work can mean time when you’re not saving into your pension - meaning less money in retirement," says Emma-Lou Montgomery, associate director at Fidelity Personal Investing.

"Increasing pension contributions can also prove difficult alongside everyday household and family costs. But this is exactly why it’s so important to start saving into a pension as early as possible." 

There are ways to make the shortfall though.

THE POWER OF 1%

It is always good to contribute more to your pension if you can as it will hopefully boost your retirement fund in the future.

Upping your contributions can be tricky though with bills remaining high amid the cost of living crisis and you may have other expenses or savings goals.

However, by dedicating an additional 1% of salary towards a pension from the age of 25, Fidelity suggests, women could more than make up the £25,000 shortfall before taking a career break

A woman who increases her pension contributions by 1% from the age of 25 and takes a two-year career break at the age of 31 could see her pension pot rise to £316,340, Fidelity said.

That is almost £10,000 more than a woman paying in the minimum 8% without a career break, and £35,000 more than a woman who takes a two-year career break and continues to pay the average 8% in pension contributions.

This assumes investment growth of 4.25% after costs.

The typical shortfall can also be narrowed by taking a shorter career break if possible.

Should a 31-year-old woman choose to take a one-year break instead of two, they could see their pension pot rise to £330,317 by increasing their contributions by 1%.

That is £23,000 more than a woman who contributes the 8% without a career break and £36,000 more than had they taken a one-year break without increasing their pension contributions.

If the career break is reduced to six months, the final retirement pot could grow to £337,420 by contributing 1% more.

That would be £31,000 more than a woman paying in the minimum 8% without a career break and £37,000 greater than if they had a six-month break without increasing their contributions.

The calculations also work if you need to take a career break later in life to care for older relatives.

Applying the same methodology, the average retirement pot could increase to up to £335,305 for a woman who pays an extra 1% to her workplace pension from the age of 25 and decides to take a six month break later in life.

This is over £28,000 more than a woman without any career breaks contributing 8% and over £36,000 more than a woman paying in the minimum 8% with a six-month break.

The government has expanded its midlife MOT scheme to help older workers aged 45 to 65 get a handle on their finances and plan for a more comfortable retirement.

Midlife MOTs were previously only available in-person at Jobcentres. An online version with interactive tools has now been launched, meaning older people across the UK can benefit from a free digital MOT, regardless of their wealth or income.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) says the website will help people review their skills and identify job opportunities, as well as “better preparing them for later life and their retirement”.

The expansion of the midlife MOT was announced by chancellor Jeremy Hunt in his spring Budget. 

Guy Opperman, minister for employment, said: “We are all living longer, and planning for later life is essential but knowing where to start can be daunting. Our digital Midlife MOT is open to everyone and easy to access, and will give people the tools to make informed decisions – on their personal finances, their health and on their careers.”

What does the midlife MOT involve?

The online midlife MOT covers three areas: work, health and money. The website signposts to key organisations and charities, including the NHS, Mind, MoneyHelper, Citizens Advice and the DWP.

In terms of the money MOT, there are various resources to read and financial tools to use. For example, MoneyHelper has a five-minute midlife MOT. It asks questions about your finances, covering topics like your savings, pensions, insurance, your goals and whether you’re aware you could claim benefits or know how to guard against scams.

A personalised midlife MOT report is produced at the end, which you can download as a PDF. It aims to help people understand what to prioritise to improve their financial position, from now to retirement.

For example, the report may include links to MoneyHelper’s interactive budget planner, articles about how to make a will, how to check your state pension on gov.uk and the pros and cons of paying off your mortgage. 

The money MOT also contains links to other support and resources, such as the Find a retirement adviser directory on MoneyHelper, how to get National Insurance credits if you are a parent, grandparent or other adult caring for a child, how to calculate your ideal retirement income, and getting help with debt. In addition, there's a lot of useful information about the state pension, from checking your state pension age to getting a state pension forecast. 

The government says it will continually review the midlife MOT to make sure it is as interactive and tailored as possible. This summer it will publish content that is specific to people living in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Who can get a midlife MOT?

Midlife MOTs are aimed at people aged 45 to 65, but in reality you can get one at any age. You may like to use it at any earlier age if you have concerns regarding finding a job, or your health or finances. If you’re thinking of retiring early, it could be useful to do an MOT before you’re 45 to make sure you’re on track and prepared for retirement.

While anyone can access the free online midlife MOT, some people can also take an in-person MOT at their local Jobcentre in England. The number of people who can access an in-person midlife MOT via their local Jobcentre is set to rise from 8,000 to 40,000 a year, as part of the government’s initiative to help older workers find and move into work as well as helping those already in work understand what support is available. The in-person midlife MOT is open to eligible Universal Credit claimants aged 50 or over.

How to perform your own midlife MOT

As well as doing the official midlife MOT, you can also perform your own by checking your finances and thinking ahead to the future. And don’t just do it as a one-off event. According to Fidelity, you should schedule once-a-year check-ups to keep your plans on track. Here are three tips to help focus your thoughts during the MOT: 

• Look at your cash. How much do you have, and what interest rate is it earning? Aim to have savings worth three to six months of essential costs in an easy-access account as a “rainy-day fund” in case of emergencies (such as a sudden fall in your income, or an unexpected, big expense). If you have a large amount of savings, consider paying some of this into a pension as you’ll benefit from tax relief. Also, be proactive and move your money to get a better interest rate (remember, base rate is now 5%). But beware of the savings tax trap, as you may find you have to pay tax on your interest. 
• Think about your retirement targets. When do you want to retire, how much income do you think you’ll need and do you know how much you’ll need to save to achieve that? Once you’ve answered those questions (and there are plenty of free online tools to help you work these things out), you can begin to take steps towards meeting your goals. 
• Do you have a plan for what happens when you’re gone? It’s not the nicest topic to think about, but it is an essential part of financial planning. Drawing up a will means your assets will be distributed according to your wishes. And it’s worth thinking about inheritance tax too. Money saved inside a pension can generally be passed on without inheritance tax applying. Don’t forget to leave instructions for how you’d like any benefits from your pension to be distributed. You can do this via an “expression of wish” form from your pension provider. 

Where are midlife MOTs available?

As well as the government’s tools, several pension providers have launched their own MOT for customers in the past, and some employers offer them to their staff.

Phoenix Group, the savings and retirement business, says it has been piloting its own version of a midlife MOT and will roll it out to its workforce in the coming months. 

Aviva has a “Mid Life MOT” app, which provides users with a free check-up on their work, wealth and wellbeing. It is open to everyone (you don’t need to be an Aviva customer or employee), and designed for those aged 45 to 60. 

Meanwhile, there are lots of free calculators online that can help you plan for retirement. For example, the investment firm Fidelity offers a retirement goal tool, and then a calculator to see if you’re saving enough to achieve your goal. The pensions firm PensionBee has a pension calculator so you can work out how much income your pension is likely to generate in retirement.

If you live in Devon, Cornwall, the North East or East Anglia, and are working and in your 40s or 50s, you may also benefit from a midlife MOT as part of a pilot that the DWP is running with private sector suppliers.

Don’t forget that Pension Wise is still available too, which allows those aged 50 or over with a defined contribution pension like a personal pension or workplace scheme to get a free 60-minute appointment with a pensions specialist where you can discuss topics like how to take money from your pension in retirement and get impartial guidance. 

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Around £500m has been identified in State pension underpayments for the period between 11 January 2021 to 31 October 2023. 

The government said more than 82,000 underpayments have been located, worth just over £6,000 each on average.

These errors have occurred due to administration errors, such as incorrect recording of claimants' National Insurance contributions, made by the Department for Work and Pensions. These errors have been found to date back as far as 1985.

While the DWP has been trying to locate those who were underpaid, not everyone will get a letter and you may have to contact the DWP yourself for redress.  

“While it is clearly good news the government has identified almost £500 million of state pension underpayments, this is still well below the near £3 billion in total costs the DWP is expected to incur once the correction exercise has been completed," Tom Selby, head of retirement policy at AJ Bell, said. 

Former pensions minister, Steve Webb, who is now partner at consulting form LCP, said the continuing scale of state pension underpayment was truly shocking, as this is not just a historical problem with 6 in 100 new pension claims being underpaid.

“Urgent action is needed to drive up standards of administration so that pensioners can have confidence that the pension they are being paid is correct," Webb said.

Who are the underpayments affecting?

The majority of errors affected married women who didn’t get an automatic increase to their state pension when their husband retired.

There were also errors recording credits for time spent at home with children.

The married woman’s rate of state pension is available to married women who do not have the full 30 years of National Insurance Contribution. The rate is set at 60% of the basic state pension your spouse gets.

This means married women could be entitled to claim up to £85 based on current rates. But currently hundreds of thousands of women could be missing out.

The errors were “primarily caused by the complexity of the basic state pension system”, said Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown.

The DWP is in the midst of a correction scheme to adequately pay over 200,000 people who are receiving the wrong state pension.

“Many of these underpayments go back years and amount to thousands of pounds. Government is making headway in making these repayments, but the scale of the problem is vast, and it will take time to complete but in the meantime many of these people have been under financial strain that they didn’t need to be,” said Morrissey.

The DWP also said the state pension overpayment rate was 0.1%, or £100m, for the 2022/2023 financial year.

How to check if you’re getting the right state pension

Under the DWP’s correction scheme, most should be contacted automatically, but many married women are not.

If this is the case you should contact the Pension Service, and to check if you are being underpaid, you can use this tool on LPC.

Pension top-up changes: The deadline for buying National Insurance credits to boost your state pension has been extended to 5 April 2025.

If you have yet to get in touch with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), doing so soon could prove a great way to boost your state pension income with very little risk.

Indeed, by spending less than £1,000 today to buy National Insurance credits, you could unlock up to £7,740 in extra income over a typical 20-year retirement period.

When is the deadline to purchase NI credits?

Originally the deadline for purchasing additional NI credits was 5 April 2023, but the DWP extended it to 31 July 2023 as its phone lines had become jammed with people seeking to top up their contributions.

This gave people over three months to act – but the cut-off has been pushed back for a second time to 5 April, 2025.

In most cases, you can get a full state pension if you have 35 years' National Insurance contributions. But, if you don’t have the full amount by the time you stop working, you may be able to plug the gap by buying additional National Insurance credits.

Even if you have a personal pension, most people under-save and underestimate how much they need for a pension, meaning a state pension could be nice to have as additional income.

“We recognise how important state pensions are for retired individuals, which is why we are giving people more time to fill any gaps in their National Insurance record to help bolster their entitlement," Vicky Atkins, financial secretary to the Treasury, said.

Is purchasing National Insurance credits a good investment?

The investment platform interactive investor calculates that somebody purchasing 10 years of NI contributions (known as class 3 contributions) at the cost of £9,070 (10 X £907) could boost their state pension by £77,400 over a 20-year retirement, £33,946 over 10 years and £15,927 over five years.

Even purchasing one year of NI contributions at the cost of £907 could boost their state pension by £7,740 over a 20-year retirement.

Low earning self-employed people earning under the small profits threshold of £6,725 in 2022/23 and 2023/24 may be eligible to pay class 2 voluntary contributions, which are cheaper than class 3 contributions. Someone paying class 2 contributions would only need to pay £179 per year to buy an extra year of state pension.

This means that self-employed people with low earnings might be able to buy extra state pension potentially worth £77,400 over 20 years for only £1,794.

Alice Guy, Head of Pensions & Savings, interactive investor, says: “The extension of the national insurance deadline is amazing news for anyone with gaps in their national insurance record and that often includes self-employed people, and anyone who’s taken time out to care for loved ones.

“The good news is that it may be cheaper for some lower paid self-employed people to boost their state pension as it only costs £179 for someone paying class 2 contributions to buy an extra year of state pension. You might be entitled to pay voluntary class 2 contributions if you’ve been self-employed but earnings below the small profits threshold, currently £6,725. You can phone the DWP helpline to find out how much it would cost to make voluntary contributions.

“Self employed people often struggle to save enough for retirement as they don’t have access to a workplace pension and can face periods with a lower income when they can’t afford to pay into a pension. So, it’s vital they keep an eye on their state pension and make sure they receive the maximum possible.

You’ll make the money back as long as you get your pension for three years. Anything after that would be profit, making it a worthwhile investment as this £824.20 outlay would amount to £5,500 over a typical 20-year retirement.

If you purchase back five years of NI for £4,121, that will boost your retirement pot by £27,500 - a staggering return on investment of nearly 600%.

That’s a pretty good return on the initial investment, especially if you’ve got the extra cash and were thinking of investing it in something else.

Currently, men born after 5 April 1951 and women born after 5 April 1953 can pay to plug gaps in their National Insurance record going back to 2006 thanks to the “transitional arrangements” between old and new state pensions.

But from 5 April 2023, workers will only be able to buy back missing contributions from the past six years. So if you have any shortfalls between 2006/2007 and 2016/2017, now is a good opportunity to improve how much you will receive in retirement.

Steve Webb, former pensions minister and partner at consultant Lane, Clark and Peacock, said: “For those who can benefit, investing in state pension top-ups can generate a better ‘rate of return’ than almost any other way of using savings. Someone with 10 missing years could pay out a little over £8,000 to fix the gaps but see a boost of £55,000 in state pension over a typical 20-year retirement.”

Right now, you have until 5 April 2025 to buy voluntary National Insurance credits to plug any gaps between April 2006 and 2016. After that, you can only plug gaps going back six years.

“Under normal rules, it is only possible to fill gaps in your NI record up to six years after the year in question. After that point, the year becomes a permanent gap in your NI record and could affect your ability to build up a full state pension.

It is worth noting that there are exceptions to this, say if you contracted out for example. If you contracted out of a state pension then you may not be entitled to a full state pension even with 35 years’ National Insurance contributions.

Things to check before purchasing National Insurance credits

The full state pension is currently £185.15 a week, or £9,627.80 a year. You need 35 years of National Insurance contributions to qualify for the full state pension, and 10 to qualify for any state pension. Any fewer than that, and you won’t receive any.

But people often have to take breaks from work. Whether it’s due to illness, parenthood, travelling or taking care of someone, it’s normal to have gaps in your employment record.

You can use the government’s State Pension forecast calculator to check if you have gaps in your state pension. This will give you a summary of how much you’re set to receive weekly according to your current and projected contribution level. You can check your National Insurance record if you’re already at state pension age.

After that, check if you qualify for any benefits during your time out which would make you entitled to a voluntary National Insurance credit, such as Child Benefit or Jobseekers Allowance.

“Buying voluntary National Insurance credits is a cost-effective way of boosting your retirement income but it’s important to speak to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) before handing over any cash as they will be able to help you work out if you can plug the gaps in another way – such as through backdated benefit claims,” says Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown.

“If you were contracted out of the state second pension at any point then this could also affect your state pension entitlement but buying voluntary credits may not boost your income – often when you contracted out your employer would boost your workplace pension contribution so you benefited from a higher workplace pension instead.”

“A final point before deciding to buy voluntary National Insurance is to think about how many more years you are likely to work,” adds Morrissey. “You may have some gaps earlier in your career but if you continue to work then you may still be able to accumulate enough years to get the full amount.”

The number of claims for Pension Credit has fallen year-on-year – and hundreds of thousands of families are still missing out on the benefit.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) received 211,125 Pension Credit applications in 2025/26, latest data shows – a 34% decrease from 321,035 in 2024/25.

In 2025/26, the DWP cleared and awarded 138,165 Pension Credit claims – a 24% drop from 180,970 in 2024/25.

The fall in applications is likely because of a surge in people applying for the benefit the year before, after the government controversially narrowed eligibility rules for the Winter Fuel Payment. It meant, in winter 2024, only those on certain means-tested benefits, including Pension Credit, could get the payment.

Applications for Pension Credit appear to now be dropping back to pre-2024 levels.

However, up to 910,000 pensioner households are estimated to be eligible for the benefit but not claiming it, the government says.

David Brooks, head of policy at consultancy Broadstone, says: “The sharp rise in Pension Credit claims following the government’s decision to link Winter Fuel Payments to Pension Credit eligibility shone a helpful spotlight on just how many retirees were missing out on valuable support to which they were entitled.

“However, as the issue declined in salience, claims activity is now falling back towards lower, more normal levels and there is a risk that awareness once again fades.”

What is Pension Credit?

• Pension Credit is a government benefit worth around £4,500 a year
• You must have reached state pension age to qualify, among other eligibility rules
• Once you start claiming Pension Credit you can also qualify for other benefits
• You can check Pension Credit eligibility using the online Pension Credit calculator

Pension Credit is worth £4,500 a year on average, but could be worth more to certain households.

Anyone who is unsure whether they or a loved one is entitled to Pension Credit can check using the government's online Pension Credit calculator.

It is separate from the state pension, and paid to people of state pension age on low incomes, even if they have savings, a personal or workplace pension, or own their own home.

The benefit is made up of two parts: guarantee credit and savings credit. The former tops up your pension income to a certain level. The latter is only available to those who reached state pension age before 6 April 2016 and had some money saved for retirement, for example in a personal or workplace pension.

Even if Pension Credit will only provide a small amount of money to you, it’s worth claiming as it means you will qualify for a host of other benefits:

• Support for mortgage interest (SMI) if you own the property you live in
• Housing benefit if you rent the property you live in
• Council tax reduction
• A free TV licence if you’re aged 75 or over
• Help with NHS dental treatment, glasses and transport costs for hospital appointments
• Cold Weather Payments
• £150 Warm Home Discount
• Christmas bonus (only for those who receive the guarantee element of Pension Credit)
• A discount on Royal Mail redirection service for those moving home

The Warm Home Discount was previously limited to those on the guaranteed element of Pension Credit, or those receiving the savings element who had high energy costs, but Labour has widened the scheme.

Individuals on Pension Credit, who are the named billpayer in their household, get the £150 discount off their energy bills. Do note, most major energy suppliers are signed up to the Warm Home Discount scheme, but not all. You can find the full list of participating firms on gov.uk.

How much is Pension Credit worth?

• Basic Pension Credit tops up a single pensioner’s weekly income to £238
• For couples, Pension Credit is worth an extra £363.25 a week
• You may qualify for additional Pension Credit if you have other responsibilities

The minimum guarantee for Pension Credit – the minimum amount that someone on Pension Credit will receive – rose by 4.8% in April 2026, thanks to the state pension triple lock. This is a mechanism which increases the state pension by the highest out of inflation, average earnings growth and 2.5%.

Pension Credit tops up a pensioner’s weekly income to £238 if they're single. For couples, it’s £363.25.

You may be entitled to extra amounts if you have other responsibilities and costs. For those with a severe disability, a further £86.05 per week is available. If both members of a couple qualify, the rate is £172.10 per week. You are classed as having a disability if you receive one of the following benefits:

• Attendance Allowance
• The middle or highest rate from the care component of Disability Living Allowance
• The daily living component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
• Armed Forces Independence Payment
• Daily living component of Adult Disability Payment (ADP) at the standard or enhanced rate

If you care for another adult, you could receive an extra £48.15 per week, provided you get Carer’s Allowance (or you’ve claimed Carer’s Allowance but are not being paid because you receive another benefit that pays a higher amount). If you and your partner have both claimed or are currently receiving Carer’s Allowance, you can both receive this extra amount. It is known as the Carer’s Addition.

For those responsible for a child or young person, you could get a further £69.98 a week (which increases to £81.07 a week for the first child if they were born before 6 April 2017). The child or young person must normally live with you and be aged 19 or younger. If the child or young person is disabled, you may get another payment.

The final top-up helps with housing costs. An extra payment may be made to cover ground rent if your home is leasehold, or to cover service charges. The above payments are all known as "guarantee credit", and form one element of Pension Credit.

The other part of Pension Credit is savings credit, which is worth up to £17.96 a week if you’re single, or up to £20.10 if you have a partner.

Who is eligible for Pension Credit?

• You must live in England, Scotland or Wales and have reached state pension age
• Pension Credit eligibility and the amount you receive depends on total household income
• You can claim Pension Credit four months before reaching state pension age (66)

You must live in England, Scotland or Wales and have reached state pension age (currently 66, but rising to 67 between April 2026 and April 2028) to be eligible for Pension Credit. When applying for guarantee credit, your income is calculated; if you have a partner, your joint income will be calculated.

The DWP defines income as your state pension and other pensions (even if they’ve been deferred), earnings from a job or self-employment, and most benefits.

However, not all benefits are counted as income. Attendance Allowance, Child Benefit, Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Housing Benefit, council tax reduction and the Christmas bonus are excluded.

Your savings and investments are also taken into account, which includes shares and any property you own (apart from the home you live in). If you have £10,000 or less, this will not affect your eligibility for Pension Credit.

If you have more than £10,000, every £500 over £10,000 will count as £1 income a week. So, if you have £11,000 in savings and shares, this counts as £2 income a week. If your income is below £238 a week then guarantee credit will top you up to that amount. If you’re claiming as a couple and your weekly income is below £363.25, it will be topped up to that level.

The criteria to claim savings credit is different. You can only access it if you reached state pension age before 6 April 2016, and you have some savings and/or a private pension. There isn’t a savings limit, however, if you have over £10,000 in savings, this will affect how much you receive. You might still get some savings credit even if you do not get the guarantee credit part of Pension Credit.

How to claim Pension Credit

• You can claim Pension Credit online, via the helpline (0800 99 1234) or by post
• To claim Pension Credit you’ll need your NI number and full details of household income
• You can backdate your claim for Pension Credit by up to three months
• If your Pension Credit claim fails, you can ask for a "mandatory reconsideration"

You can apply for Pension Credit in several ways. Options include applying online on the government website, phoning the helpline (0800 99 1234), or submitting an application by post. If you haven’t reached state pension age yet, you can still apply up to four months before this date.

You’ll need your National Insurance number when you apply, plus information about your income, savings and investments. If you have a partner, you’ll need the same details about them too.

Government figures show that the majority of people apply for Pension Credit online or over the phone.

Sarah Pennells, consumer finance specialist at Royal London, comments: "You can backdate your claim for Pension Credit by up to three months, and the sooner you claim, the sooner you could start receiving payments. Not only that, but, if you’re entitled to Pension Credit, you’ll be able to get extra help with costs such as rent and council tax, which could make a big difference."

If you apply for Pension Credit and your claim is turned down, you can ask the Pension Service to look at your claim again if you think the decision is wrong. Asking them to change their decision is called a "mandatory reconsideration". It’s free to do and you don’t need to use a solicitor.

Some of the reasons for a claim being refused include having too much income, not being a UK resident, failure to provide all requested information and not being the right age.

Why have so many pensioners failed to claim Pension Credit in the past?

The eligibility criteria for Pension Credit is complex. This could be putting some pensioners off claiming it, although there are a number of other barriers which could be stopping people from putting in an application.

Some pensioners believe they would get such a small amount of Pension Credit, it’s not worth applying for, DWP research suggests.

Others mistakenly believe they won’t qualify if they have savings, while some think if they own their own home they’re not eligible for the benefit.

Some pensioners who have previously applied for Pension Credit and been rejected think they will never be eligible – this is false. Their personal circumstances could have changed, making them eligible.

Emma Walker, director at retirement firm Just Group, says: “Pension Credit is the key ‘top-up’ benefit for low-income pensioners, but it’s not well understood, particularly the eligibility criteria and the access it gives to a range of other benefits.”

Thousands of parents (mostly women) who claimed child benefit before 2000 are receiving letters from HMRC explaining that they could be missing state pension payments due to government errors.

The underpayments are worth £5,400 on average.

HMRC told MoneyWeek that it had so far issued 325,000 letters to people both over state pension age and under state pension age. It expects to finish sending letters by the end of this month (September). 

The majority of the people affected are women, and the age range varies. Anyone who made a claim for child benefit before May 2000 and is unsure if their National Insurance number was included on the form could be affected.

The government is also encouraging people to come forward to see if they are missing payments. 

James Murray, exchequer secretary to the Treasury, said: “The state pension is the foundation of state support for people in retirement. We are urging people to check their National Insurance records to make sure they will receive the pension they deserve.”

State pension underpayments: who will get a letter? 

HMRC is coming to the end of a huge mailout of letters sent to those who are most likely to have been affected by an error in their state pension, largely mothers who claimed child benefit before 2000 and have a gap in their National Insurance (NI) record.

Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) was applied to the NI records of those who claimed child benefit between 1978 and 2000, to protect their state pension. It reduced the number of qualifying years a person with caring responsibilities needed to receive the full basic state pension. It was replaced by National Insurance credits in 2010.

However, if someone claimed child benefit before May 2000 and didn't provide their NI number on their claim, HRP may not have been applied and their state pension entitlement could have been affected.

HMRC says that if people are missing HRP from their NI record, it doesn’t automatically mean their state pension calculation is incorrect, but it does increase the possibility, particularly if they spent a number of years away from work to raise a family.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) estimates that 194,000 people's records will need to be reviewed as part of their exercise into state pension underpayments affected by HRP errors. As at the end of March, only 419 state pension records had been checked, and £2.2 million had been paid out for arrears.

Can I claim if I didn't get a letter?

Customers do not need to wait for the letter before they make a claim. 

They can check their eligibility and make a claim on gov.uk - it should only take about 15 minutes to complete. They can also claim by post using form CF411.

Emma Reynolds, minister for pensions, said: “The government’s priority is to ensure pensioners have security and dignity in retirement. I strongly encourage anyone who thinks they are missing out to check their eligibility and apply for Home Responsibilities Protection – taking just a few minutes out of your day now could mean a boost to your retirement.”

People can check their National Insurance record online or via the free HMRC app.

Who is affected by state pension underpayments? 

As well as the errors with HRP, the DWP is also investigating other state pension underpayments. These relate to some married individuals, widows/widowers and people who have reached age 80 where their current payment does not include an additional entitlement.

An estimated 860,271 state pension records need to be reviewed by the government. So far, 731,717 have been checked, with £594 million paid out in arrears.

The mistakes relating to the HRP were recognised in a DWP annual report in July 2022 and described as the “second largest source of error in state pensions”.

Note that if you first claimed child benefit after May 2000, you will not be affected and do not need to contact HMRC because parents were required to include their NI number on their child benefit claim forms.

State pension errors: the “married woman’s rate” of basic state pension 

Widows and divorcees could have been underpaid the "married woman’s rate" of basic state pension for years. This separate problem dates back to 1985 and relates to the "old" state pension system.

Married women aged 80 or over are being urged to check if they are receiving their full state pension after a document revealed hundreds of thousands of them are missing out under the underpayment correction scheme. It is thought that just over 130,000 people are affected, at a total of just over £1bn.

In this instance, the DWP has no plan to contact these women, making them responsible for claiming.

If you have the full 30 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions, you’re entitled to the full basic state pension, currently £169.50 per week.

And if you’re married or in a civil partnership, and you both have the full 30 qualifying years, you’ll get double the amount.

However, if you’re a married woman and don’t have the full number of qualifying years, and your spouse retired before April 2016, you could be entitled to the so-called “married woman’s rate” of state pension.

This rate is set at 60% of the basic state pension your spouse gets. So, if your basic state pension payment is less than 60% of your spouse’s, you could be entitled to more.

In other words, married women could be entitled to a higher state pension (up to £85) based on current rates, but only if they claim it from the DWP.

Who’s missing out on the state pension correction scheme?

Before 2008, married women were legally required to claim the top-up, but following a rule change in March 2008, married women in this position should have automatically received an uplift in their state pension to 60% of their husbands' payout.

However, the DWP has excluded the “pre-March 2008” women from the automatic uplift as they were previously responsible for claiming it themselves.

It added it “took a number of steps to inform these individuals about their eligibility,” sent out forms about four months before a customer reached state pension age and men were given an extra claim so their wives could request the top-up.

It was unclear how many women were missing out, but a document discovered by former pensions minister Steve Webb showed that “in the low hundreds of thousands” of women could be in this position.

How can I claim?

If you receive a letter from the government about being underpaid the state pension, it will explain how to claim. 

To check if you've been underpaid, you can use this tool on the consultant LCP's website. You can also contact the Pension Service for information about the state pension by calling 0800 731 0469.

Some people who were paid the wrong state pension may have died. In that case, families and executors will be entitled to check the deceased person's eligibility on the government website and make a claim for any arrears.