Older men and women can check online for State Pension back payment worth £5,000 on average

dailyrecord.co.uk:

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) started writing to older men and women in September 2023, whose National Insurance (NI) records may have been affected by missing periods of Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP), resulting in a shortfall in their State Pension payments.

HRP was a scheme that ran between April 6, 1978 and April 5, 2010 and reduced the number of qualifying years of NI contributions a person with caring responsibilities needed to receive the full Basic State Pension.

HMRC is working with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to find people affected by the historic administration error over the next 18 months so that those eligible receive any arrears payments as quickly as possible.

Some 210,000 older people are due a share of underpayments totalling £1.3 billion, equivalent to around £5,000 each. DWP has also previously said that those closest to the State Pension age in their 60’s and 70s are being issued letters first, however, anyone who thinks they may have been affected can check their eligibility online using the self-identification tool on GOV.UK here.You may still be able to apply for HRP, for full tax years (6 April to 5 April) between 1978 and 2010, if any of the following were true: You can also apply if, for a full tax year between 2003 and 2010, you were either: The guidance on GOV.UK explains that most people got HRP automatically if they were: If you reached State Pension age before April 6, 2008, you cannot transfer HRP.