Overview
- HMRC and the DWP estimate roughly 210,000 people may have missing Home Responsibilities Protection years because National Insurance numbers were not always recorded on Child Benefit or Family Allowance claims.
- Official figures show the average underpayment per affected person is £8,377 and the total amount owed has passed £800 million.
- HMRC began contacting potentially affected pensioners in September 2023 with more than 370,000 letters, but the outreach drew only about an 8% response and the letter campaign has now ended.
- To seek a correction, applicants generally must have been receiving their State Pension for at least one year — which means most eligible people are aged 67 or older — and must use the free GOV.UK self-identification tool to apply for a review.
- Pension-reclaim firms such as AskRose say they are handling large caseloads (about 100,000 clients) and warn that case processing can take months and some claimants have died before receiving arrears despite HMRC saying reviews typically take four to six months.