DWP failed retired bookkeeper to obtain married girl’s pension

A retired bookkeeper has gained her case in opposition to the federal government over its pensions failure.

Daphne Bennett, started claiming her state pension in 2003 however gaps in her contributions meant she acquired simply £38.66 every week.

When husband Tim retired in 2008, she was eligible for a 60 % married girl’s pension.

Payments had been depending on a brand new state pension declare kind being stuffed out.

But Mr Bennett was advised on the telephone that no varieties wanted to be signed and no paperwork had been ever despatched to the couple, each 80, from Woking in Surrey.

In 2020, Mrs Bennett noticed protection about married girls’s pensions and realised she could possibly be on a better fee. She utilized and was profitable, securing a rise of round £24 per week, nevertheless it was solely backdated to 2019. 

The DWP rejected a criticism about its failures to tell her {that a} declare ought to have been made. But the Independent Case Examiner overruled the choice and ordered again funds relationship to 2008, plus curiosity and compensation for “distress and inconvenience”.

Mrs Bennett mentioned: “When I first found out that I could have been on a higher pension for over a decade I was surprised and puzzled. Then when I claimed and was told it could only be backdated for one year, I felt it was unfair.  It was their mistake, not mine. 

“It has taken years to work our way through the complaints procedure, with the support of Steve Webb, but I’m absolutely delighted that my complaint has been upheld. 

“My husband reads paperwork carefully and I would obviously have made a second claim for the higher state pension if anyone had actually told us that was how the system worked. 

“I hope that those in positions of authority will look at what happened to me and accept that there are many other women in the same position and will put things right for all of them.”