UK Inquiry Tracker

Underpayments of the State Pension

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry

Opened: 21 Sep 2021 Closed: 7 Apr 2022 Parliament page

In early 2020 the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) became aware of underpayments of State Pension affecting certain women who reached State Pension Age before 2016 . Subsequent DWP investigations uncovered systematic issues meaning that tens of thousands of people might have been underpaid State Pension for many years. … Read more

6 Recommendations

16 Conclusions

1 Report

1 Oral session

3 Letters

1 Event

Activity timeline 6 events

28 Apr
2022

Report published

Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Thirty Third report from Session 2021-22

25 Apr
2022

Correspondence

Joint correspondence from Rt Hon Stephen Timms, Chair, Work and Pensions Committee and Dame Meg Hillier, Chair, Public Accounts Committee, …

21 Jan
2022

Report published

Thirty-Third Report - Underpayments of the State Pension

14 Dec
2021

Correspondence

Correspondence from Sir Steve Webb, Partner, LCP, re State Pension Correction Exercise, dated 7 December 2021

23 Nov
2021

Correspondence

Correspondence from Peter Schofield CB, Permanent Secretary, Department for Work and Pensions, re inquiry into underpayments of State Pensi…

28 Oct
2021

Oral evidence

Underpayments of the State Pension

Oral evidence sessions 1 session

28 Oct 2021

View on parliament.uk

Underpayments of the State Pension

Amanda Reynolds · Department for Work & Pensions Cathy Payne · Department for Work & Pensions Peter Schofield · Department for Work and Pensions

Reports 1 report · click to expand

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
Thirty-Third Report - Underpayments of the State Pension	HC 654	21 Jan 2022	22	Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

5 results

2 Recommendation Not Addressed

Thirty-Third Report - Underpayment…

The Department’s complacency about the level of underpayments inherent in its approach to administering State...

The Department’s complacency about the level of underpayments inherent in its approach to administering State Pension has led it to fail pensioners. The Department’s highly manual systems and complex State Pension rules has led to calculation errors and the underpayment … Read more

Government Response

The response references clear, ambitious targets and a regulatory environment that stimulates competition and investment in the market. It provides information about gigabit coverage and full fibre networks.

HM Treasury

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6 Recommendation Not Addressed

Thirty-Third Report - Underpayment…

In paying pensioners, a lump sum of their arrears, the Department may not be fully...

In paying pensioners, a lump sum of their arrears, the Department may not be fully restoring them to the position that they would be in had the Department paid them correctly in the first place. The payment of a lump … Read more In paying pensioners, a lump sum of their arrears, the Department may not be fully restoring them to the position that they would be in had the Department paid them correctly in the first place. The payment of a lump sum of arrears may affect the pensioner’s current or future entitlement to other benefits such as Pension Credit, housing benefit or social care provided by local authorities. The Department has demonstrated little interest in accounting for financial consequences of receiving a lump sum in its pensions reassessment and considers it to be the pensioner’s responsibility to advise the relevant authority should their circumstances and eligibility for benefits change. The Department added special payments of interest on top of arrears payments to those who contacted the Department about underpayments before January 2021 but chose to stop paying interest once the formal correction exercise began. The Department argued that it took this decision, jointly with ministers, for consistency with previous correction exercises and to comply with the principles of Managing Public Money. However, we do not think there is a convincing justification for treating those in scope of the exercise differently to those contacting the Department prior to it. With underpayments going as far back as 1985, the Department is unlikely to be restoring the pensioners to a position as if the issue never occurred, as would be expected according to the principles of Managing Public Money. Recommendation: The Department should establish the full extent of the impact on pensioners of receiving a lump sum of arrears of benefit, particularly for larger sums of arrears. It should seek assurance from local authorities that people are not treated prejudicially compared to how they would have been treated had they received the money over their proper period of entitlement. It should, as part of its Treasury Minute, set out how its payment of arrears without interest or further compensation is c Show less

Government Response

The response outlines milestones for assessing delivery beyond 2025, including market surveys, contract signings, and clarity on premises beyond the programme's scope. It expects to have robust profiles for the period beyond 2025 by Summer 2023.

HM Treasury

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7 Recommendation Not Addressed

Thirty-Third Report - Underpayment…

Given the nature of the underpayments identified there must be a risk that similar, unidentified...

Given the nature of the underpayments identified there must be a risk that similar, unidentified errors exist elsewhere in the State Pension caseload. For example, the NAO report states that “the Department did not find any significant evidence that it … Read more

Government Response

Greensill Capital marketed its salary advance scheme, Earnd, to NHS trusts from 2019 and charged no fee to employers and employees for using the service. Based on a report by the National Audit Office, the Committee took evidence on Monday 15th November 2021 from the Department of Health and Social Care; Crown Commercial Service; NHS Business Service Authority and NHS Shared Business Services Limited.

HM Treasury

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10 Conclusion Not Addressed

Thirty-Third Report - Underpayment…

The Department told us it changed its quality assurance framework over the LEAP exercise and...

The Department told us it changed its quality assurance framework over the LEAP exercise and business-as-usual State Pension processing.21 Following our evidence session the Department explained that, as part of its quality strategy review it reviewed its training products, amended … Read more

Government Response

The Department rejects the Committee's assertion and claims to have been taking action to prevent future errors since Summer 2021 by reviewing its Quality Framework.

HM Treasury

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12 Conclusion

Thirty-Third Report - Underpayment…

A Legal Entitlements and Administrative Practices (LEAP) exercise is a systematic review of cases at...

A Legal Entitlements and Administrative Practices (LEAP) exercise is a systematic review of cases at risk of being underpaid to help the Department ensure it has met its legal responsibilities. The Department for Work & Pensions (the Department) uses LEAP … Read more

HM Treasury

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Government Response AI assessment · 21 of 6 classified

Accepted 7

Acknowledged 8

Not Addressed 4

Rejected 2

Total 6 recs + 16 conclusions

Correspondence 3 letters

25 Apr 2022 Joint correspondence from Rt Hon Stephen Timms, Chair, Work and Pensions Committee and Dame Meg Hillier, Chair, Public Accounts Committee, re State Pension Underpayments, dated 20 April 2022

Parliament page

14 Dec 2021 Correspondence from Sir Steve Webb, Partner, LCP, re State Pension Correction Exercise, dated 7 December 2021

Parliament page

23 Nov 2021 Correspondence from Peter Schofield CB, Permanent Secretary, Department for Work and Pensions, re inquiry into underpayments of State Pension, dated 15 November 2021

Parliament page