Urgent Alert: Thousands Owed £10,000+ in Backdated Tax Payments Due to Administrative Error

Many individuals who took time off work between 1978 and 2010 to care for children or someone with a long-term disability may be owed substantial backdated tax payments, which could amount to £10,000 or more. Martin Lewis, a renowned money-saving expert, has issued an urgent alert, warning people to check their National Insurance records to claim missing Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) and potentially receive substantial payouts. For instance, one individual, Cilla, has received £31,674 in back pay from HMRC.

Key Takeaways:

• HMRC is using National Insurance records to identify individuals who might have been eligible for HRP between 1978 and 2010 but lack a record of it on their NI account.
• The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) estimates it has underpaid between £300m and £1.5billion of state pension due to errors with the recording of HRP.
• Accountants Robson Laidler suggest that people could be entitled to an average of £5,000 in backdated payments.
• Individuals who may be eligible for HRP include those who received Child Benefit for a child under 16 or took significant time off work to care for children or someone with a long-term disability.
• Anyone who may have claimed Child Benefit before May 2000, when it was not mandatory to provide their National Insurance Number on their claim, may not have the correct number of years for State Pension purposes on their NI record.

Statistics:

• £300m to £1.5billion: estimated underpayment of state pension due to errors with the recording of HRP.
• £5,000: average backdated payment individuals may be entitled to, according to Robson Laidler.
• 1978-2010: the 32-year span during which individuals may have been eligible for HRP.
• £31,674: the amount of back pay one individual, Cilla, received from HMRC.

Sources:

• Martin Lewis, "State Pension error: Did you take time off work 1978 to 2010 to look after children or someone with long term disability You could be owed £10,000s," X, [No Date].
• HM Revenue and Customs, [No Date].
• Robson Laidler, [No Date].