Frequently Asked Questions About State Pension Corrections & Underpayments

Depending on your circumstances, Kensbridge may review:

• Missing Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP).
• National Insurance credits or qualifying-year corrections affecting your State Pension.
• Widow’s, widower’s or surviving spouse/civil partner State Pension uplift or inherited State Pension.
• Marriage or civil-partnership-based State Pension uplift, including Category BL where applicable.
• Deferred or delayed State Pension entitlement.
• Any linked effect on Pension Credit arising from one of the above matters.

Not every category will be relevant to every customer.

State Pension rules have changed over time. The rules that apply can depend on matters such as when you or your spouse or civil partner reached State Pension age, when you married or formed a civil partnership, when bereavement occurred and the periods covered by your National Insurance record.

We therefore need to consider the relevant dates and circumstances before deciding which checks may be appropriate.

Home Responsibilities Protection, usually called HRP, was designed to protect the State Pension position of some parents and carers. It operated between 6 April 1978 and 5 April 2010 and was later replaced by National Insurance credits.

Some people may still have HRP missing from their historic National Insurance record.

No.

Missing HRP may affect your National Insurance record, but it does not automatically mean you have been underpaid State Pension.

HMRC must determine whether the National Insurance record should be corrected. DWP then determines whether that correction affects your State Pension entitlement or creates arrears.

Potentially. HRP can be transferred in certain circumstances where Child Benefit was awarded to a partner but the other person shared responsibility for caring for the child. Specific eligibility conditions apply.

We review the relevant years and family circumstances before deciding whether this may apply.

Potentially.

Your National Insurance record is used in calculating State Pension entitlement. If relevant credits or qualifying years are missing or incorrectly recorded, a correction may affect the calculation.

A record correction does not necessarily result in additional State Pension or arrears, so we need to consider its actual effect on your entitlement.

Possibly.

Under the older basic State Pension rules, some people may be able to increase their pension using their spouse’s or civil partner’s National Insurance record. The rules depend on the individuals’ dates and pension circumstances.

This is not an automatic uplift for everyone who is married or in a civil partnership.

Possibly.

Some widows, widowers and surviving civil partners may be able to inherit State Pension entitlement from a deceased spouse or civil partner.

The rules differ depending on when the people involved reached State Pension age and their individual circumstances.

Yes, in some circumstances.

If State Pension was deferred or claimed later, there may be additional entitlement. Depending on the applicable rules and dates, this can include increased regular State Pension and, in some cases, a one-off or lump-sum payment.

Kensbridge may review whether the relevant deferral or delayed-entitlement information has been correctly reflected.

Potentially.

Where a State Pension correction changes a customer’s pension entitlement or creates arrears, there may also be a linked effect on Pension Credit.

Kensbridge only reviews Pension Credit where it is linked to one of the State Pension correction or underpayment matters we are handling.

Start by completing our initial eligibility check.

Depending on the potential issue, we may ask about your:

• State Pension and National Insurance history.
• Child Benefit or caring history.
• Marriage or civil-partnership history.
• Bereavement and spouse/civil-partner details.
• Periods of employment or other relevant National Insurance information.
• Any period when your State Pension was deferred or delayed.

We then assess which of the State Pension issues covered by our service may be relevant.

We review and validate the information you provide, identify the issues and dates that may require checking and obtain any necessary authorities or supporting information.

Where appropriate, we may then:

• Obtain and review HMRC or DWP records.
• Request further evidence.
• Prepare an information request, correction request, enquiry or claim.
• Submit the relevant documentation to HMRC or DWP.
• Monitor the matter and communicate the outcome to you.

We submit documents only after the required information and customer authorisation are available.

No.

An initial eligibility assessment does not mean a claim will automatically be submitted.

We may determine that further evidence is required, that an enquiry should be made first, or that the information available does not currently support a claim.

Yes.

You can contact HMRC, DWP or the Pension Service yourself, and government services are available without using Kensbridge.

Customers choose Kensbridge where they want assistance identifying relevant issues, obtaining and reviewing information, preparing documentation and managing correspondence.

No.

We cannot guarantee that HMRC or DWP will accept a correction or claim, increase your pension or pay arrears.

The outcome depends on the applicable rules, the records held by HMRC/DWP and your individual evidence and circumstances.

Where required for your Claim, you will be asked to sign the appropriate authority allowing Kensbridge to communicate with HMRC and/or DWP.

This may include a Form 64-8 for relevant HMRC matters and a DWP Letter of Authority for relevant State Pension matters.

Kensbridge is independent and is not part of HMRC or DWP.

We do not act as your attorney, appointee or deputy and we cannot receive, redirect or control your State Pension, Pension Credit or arrears. Any payments due from DWP are made directly to you.

The information required depends on the matter being reviewed. We may ask for:

• Your National Insurance number.
• State Pension information or award letters.
• National Insurance records.
• Child Benefit or caring history.
• Marriage or civil-partnership information.
• Spouse, civil-partner or late-spouse details where relevant.
• Bereavement information.
• Employment or National Insurance credit information.
• Information about any period of State Pension deferral.
• Other documents reasonably required for your particular Claim.

Not always.

Many customers no longer have paperwork dating back several decades. HMRC or DWP may hold relevant records.

Where records are incomplete, however, HMRC or DWP may ask for additional information or supporting evidence.

Tell us what you know and explain why other details are unavailable.

This may arise because of separation, bereavement, estrangement or loss of contact.

Do not guess information. We will review the information available and determine what further action may be appropriate.

Yes.

A National Insurance record may help identify missing contributions, credits or qualifying years. State Pension award information, forecasts or calculation information may also help establish how your pension has been calculated.

They are useful starting points, although further information from HMRC or DWP may still be required.

Kensbridge accepts digital/electronic signatures for customer documents.

Customers who are unable to use, or do not wish to use, the digital-signature process can be provided with documents to sign by hand.

Yes.

You will only be asked to sign documents in their final completed form.

We will not alter a signed document after you have signed it. If material information subsequently needs to be corrected, we will prepare a revised final version for you to review and sign again before it is submitted or relied upon.

For some HRP or National Insurance matters, information available through your Personal Tax Account may not provide sufficient detail for the relevant historic years.

Where necessary, Kensbridge may therefore make a targeted Statement of Account Request to HMRC for the specific tax years relevant to your HRP review.

The request will explain what information is being sought and why, and you will provide specific consent to HMRC disclosing that information to Kensbridge.

Under HMRC’s current process for HRP-related Statement of Account requests made by repayment agents, HMRC may contact you directly to confirm that you authorised the request and are content for HMRC to disclose the relevant information to Kensbridge.

If HMRC contacts you, you should follow the instructions in their communication so that the request can progress.

There is no single or guaranteed timescale.

Some matters may take several months and complex cases can take longer. The overall time depends on the type of issue, the information available, whether additional evidence is required and HMRC/DWP processing times.

We may provide updates by email, SMS, telephone, WhatsApp or post, as appropriate.

There may be periods where we do not have a substantive update while HMRC or DWP is considering your matter, but we will continue to monitor the case and follow up where appropriate.

Kensbridge operates on a No Win, No Fee basis for cases accepted under our Conditional Fee Agreement.

Our Success Fee is 30% of the arrears actually received, plus VAT at 20% on our fee.

This means the total amount payable is 36% of the arrears actually received.

There are no upfront fees.

DWP pays any State Pension or linked Pension Credit arrears directly to you. Kensbridge does not receive the arrears on your behalf.

If your Claim is successful, we will ask you to provide the DWP arrears breakdown, award notice or other reasonable evidence of the amount paid and any deductions or set-off.

Kensbridge will then issue a separate invoice explaining the Success Fee calculation.

Payment is due within 14 days from the date of the invoice.

No.

Our Success Fee applies only to backdated arrears actually received.

We do not charge any fee on an ongoing weekly or monthly State Pension increase or ongoing Pension Credit.

If no arrears are paid to you, you do not pay a Success Fee.

A correction to your National Insurance or pension record which does not result in arrears does not by itself create a Success Fee.

Yes.

You have a 14-day cooling-off period beginning on the date you accept the Conditional Fee Agreement.

If you cancel within that period, no fee or charge is payable.

You may also end your instructions later. The Conditional Fee Agreement explains the circumstances in which a Success Fee may remain payable if arrears are subsequently paid as a result of work Kensbridge carried out before termination.

Please contact us.

We can provide reasonable support, including paper documentation, postal correspondence, telephone assistance and alternative payment methods where appropriate.

A review by Kensbridge does not itself alter your State Pension.

HMRC and DWP make the relevant decisions about National Insurance records and State Pension entitlement.

A correction may increase your pension, create arrears or make no financial difference depending on your individual circumstances. We do not guarantee any particular outcome.

Depending on the issue and your circumstances, the outcome may include:

• Correction of your National Insurance record.
• Additional qualifying years or credits being recognised.
• An increase to your ongoing State Pension.
• Recognition of a marriage-based or inherited State Pension entitlement.
• Recognition of deferred or delayed State Pension entitlement.
• A backdated arrears, lump-sum or one-off payment.
• A linked Pension Credit reassessment.

A correction does not necessarily result in an increased payment.

There is no single backdating period that applies to every type of State Pension correction or underpayment.

The amount and period of any arrears are determined by DWP based on the particular entitlement, when it arose and the rules applying to the case.

It may still be appropriate to check in some circumstances.

Receiving the current full pension rate does not necessarily establish whether you were correctly paid in an earlier period or whether another qualifying entitlement was correctly applied.

However, a correction may make no financial difference and no arrears are guaranteed.

Potentially.

State Pension is taxable income, and the tax treatment of pension arrears can depend on the years to which the entitlement relates. Changes in pension income can also be relevant to income-related benefits such as Pension Credit.

HMRC and DWP determine the relevant tax and benefit treatment. Customers should seek appropriate tax or benefits advice if they are unsure how an award affects their individual circumstances.