State pension underpayments: ombudsman to investigate underpayments for married women

Tens of thousands of married women pensioners could get back millions in state pension underpayments following a campaign that has led to an ombudsman investigation for a number of cases

pensioners looking at laptop
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Married women who retired before March 2008 were able to claim for an enhanced state pension once their husbands retired - but inadequate procedures and systems in place by the Department for Work and Pensions means tens of thousands of women were underpaid their state pension. 

But, justice could be on the horizon after the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s office said this week it would fully investigate seven cases following a campaign run by the former pensions minister, Steve Webb.

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Kalpana Fitzpatrick

Kalpana is an award-winning journalist with extensive experience in financial journalism. She is also the author of Invest Now: The Simple Guide to Boosting Your Finances (Heligo) and children's money book Get to Know Money (DK Books).

Her work includes writing for a number of media outlets, from national papers, magazines to books.

She has written for national papers and well-known women’s lifestyle and luxury titles. She was finance editor for Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Red and Prima.

She started her career at the Financial Times group, covering pensions and investments.

As a money expert, Kalpana is a regular guest on TV and radio – appearances include BBC One’s Morning Live, ITV’s Eat Well, Save Well, Sky News and more. She was also the resident money expert for the BBC Money 101 podcast .

Kalpana writes a monthly money column for Ideal Home and a weekly one for Woman magazine, alongside a monthly 'Ask Kalpana' column for Woman magazine.

Kalpana also often speaks at events. She is passionate about helping people be better with their money; her particular passion is to educate more people about getting started with investing the right way and promoting financial education.