State pension payment errors "could be historically impossible to fix", a former pensions minister has warned.
Sir Steve Webb, a partner at law firm LCP, has sounded the alarm the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) might erase as many as two million state pension records, potentially blocking families from recovering £127million in unpaid benefits owed to 43,000 pensioners who died without receiving their proper entitlements.
Mr Webb, who served as Liberal Democrat pensions minister under the coalition Government, has contacted the DWP's permanent secretary Sir Peter Schofield to request that records be preserved for sufficient time to address any unresolved pension payment mistakes.
The concern centres on records dating from 2017 onwards that could be destroyed, rendering it "virtually impossible" to rectify historical payment errors.
State pension errors 'could be impossible to fix', a ex-DWP minister warns
| GETTYDocuments obtained through a freedom of information request reveal that the DWP implemented a temporary halt on record deletions in 2021 as part of efforts to address pension underpayments affecting married women, widows and those over 80.
The department typically removes pension records four years after a person's death, meaning documents from 2017 through 2020 could face deletion once the pause ends.
The FOI response stated: "Application of the standard retention policy remains paused.
"Once the embargo is lifted, then we will look at deletion of records that are no longer required and re-apply the retention policy."
How much is the state pension triple lock? | ONS With approximately 500,000 pensioners dying annually, the former Government minister calculates that resuming standard deletion procedures could eliminate up to two million records.
Among the affected cases are errors concerning home responsibilities protection, a programme designed to safeguard the state pension entitlements of parents and carers.
Government data previously disclosed that 194,000 individuals experienced errors related to this protection scheme, with 43,000 of these people passing away before receiving the correct benefits.
The deceased pensioners were collectively underpaid by an estimated £127million, money that their families could potentially claim if records remain accessible.
Sir Steve Webb expressed frustration about families encountering obstacles when attempting to resolve pension errors for deceased relatives.
"I often hear from people who are trying to sort out errors in the state pension of loved ones who are no longer with us, but are told nothing can be done because the records have been destroyed," he said.
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Steve Webb explained what people who think they may be affected by the state pension issue should do | LCPHe emphasised the importance of preserving records, stating: "The least we can do for people who were never paid the right pension is to do all we can to make sure that at least their families get the money they missed out on."
The DWP maintains that its data deletion policy remains under review, with no decision made to resume normal procedures.
A DWP spokesperson said: "We are committed to ensuring pensioners get the financial support they deserve and have so far reviewed over 900,000 customer records, with awards totalling over £900million in arrears made.
"Where errors do occur we are committed to resolving them, which is why we have paused deleting state pension records."
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