Divorced older men and women could be due historical State Pension back payment

A former employee of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is urging divorced people who reached State Pension age before April 2016 who are not in receipt of the full Basic State Pension of £169.50 per week, based on their own National Insurance (NI) Contributions, to contact the Pension Service as they could be entitled to 100 per cent of their ex-spouses NI contributions.

With 42 years’ experience dealing with benefits and the State Pension, Sandra Wrench knows better than most how the DWP system works - and how to check if you are receiving the right amount of money in retirement. Mrs Wrench has shared the simple steps people can take to make sure they are not missing out on State Pension payments, which could lead to back payments.

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Mrs Wrench said that once you have contacted the Pension Service, you will need to send in your divorce absolute certificate for verification of your divorce as divorce is not finalised until the absolute stage. Guidance on GOV.UK explains that you need to report any change such as divorce, but Mrs Wrench points out that it does not clarify that your Basic State Pension could be increased if you receive less than 100 per cent of the weekly rate (£169.50).

The ex-DWP employee told the Daily Record: “I am wondering how many divorced people, who reached State Pension age before April 2016, are unaware of this rule and may be paid the incorrect rate of Basic State Pension? My ex-husband was totally unaware that he was in receipt of the incorrect amount of State Pension for 16 years. Unless someone points this out to you, you are unlikely to know.”

She continued: “You can see what your Basic State Pension is from the uprating letter which DWP sends out every March, and your Basic State Pension is listed at the top. Any additional pension and graduated pension to which you are entitled, is paid on top of your Basic State Pension.”

Mrs Wrench also explained how divorce cases were not included in the LEAP (Legal Entitlements and Administrative Practices) exercises, which saw the correction of State Pensions due to historical errors identified in the National Audit Report of September 22, 2021.

Mrs Wrench says this is because it is the customer’s responsibility to report a change in their circumstances to the DWP.

She continued: “This increase in Basic State Pension due to divorce only applies to those who are of State Pension age before April 2016, who come under the old scheme, and this ruling does not apply to those who are of State Pension age after April 2016 (the New State Pension).

“Once the increase is awarded it cannot be taken away, so if you later remarry you will still be left with the higher rate of Basic State Pension.”

Mrs Wrench shared how a divorced friend lived with her partner for 15 years, until she reached State Pension age at age 60 and could claim her 100 per cent basic State Pension, then later got married, and still retained her full payment rate.

More personally, Mrs Wrench explained how this affected her own situation. She said: “My ex-husband only had 91 per cent Basic State Pension on his own NI contributions, but when he claimed his State Pension at the age of 65 in 2004, he was divorced and should have got 100 per cent Basic State Pension, based on my NI contributions as his ex-wife.

“We did not discover this underpayment until October 2020, when he phoned DWP, but DWP would only pay him the correct 100 per cent rate from October 2020 when he reported the change, and not from 2004 when he claimed his State Pension.

“When my ex husband contacted DWP in October 2020, saying that he intended to appeal, the response from DWP was that he was unlikely to get anywhere with it - but then they did not know who he had in tow as his ex-wife, as I had worked in DWP for 42 years and worked on the State Pension section so was familiar with state pension procedures and law.”

She continued: “We asked for a ‘Mandatory Reconsideration’, but DWP were not prepared to change their decision. We then appealed and the case was referred to a First Tier Tribunal. Due to errors made by the First Tier Tribunal in my ex-husband's appeal case, our case was then referred to the Upper Tribunal, who stated that if we could prove official error, it might be possible to win the appeal and get paid the arrears.

“Our case was then transferred to another First Tier Tribunal to re-assess the case. The appeal took four years, but in the end my ex-husband got the State Pension arrears to which he was entitled to, which amounted to £8,000 for a 16 year period 2004-2020.”

Mrs Wrench urged everyone in this position to check their State Pension letter and call the Pension Service if they are not in receipt of the full Basic State Pension. If you are unhappy with their decision, the next stage is to ask for a Mandatory Reconsideration and if that fails, then proceed to the appeals stage.

Pension Credit

However, before you take any action Mrs Wrench has a crucial caveat for those in receipt of Pension Credit.

She explained: “If you are in receipt of Pension Credit, which is £218.15 a week for a single person, (£227.10 a week from April 2025), you are probably better off remaining on Pension Credit with its various perks along with the Winter Fuel Payment, than improving your Basic State Pension to £169.50 a week (£176.45 a week from April 2025) because you are divorced.

“This increase in State Pension due to divorce will be helpful for those who cannot claim Pension Credit because they are just over the savings limit.”

Full contact details for the Pension Service can be found on GOV.UK here.