Universal Credit claimants could wait until April 2024 for DWP to fix pension filing defect

Sign up for View email from Westminster for expert analytics straight to your inboxReceive our free email View from WestminsterPlease enter a valid email addressPlease enter a valid email addressI would like to receive emails about offers, events and updates day of The Independent. Read our privacy notice{{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}An error has occurred. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Universal Credit claimants may have to wait until April 2024 for the government to fix a faulty operating system.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was found to only correct state pension records when they reach eligible age.

The situation of lost National Insurance credits could see people receive less pension state when they retire or wasting money buying unnecessary supplements.< /p>

The issue came to light in early February when Liberal Democrat MP Wendy Chamberlain demanded answers from Parliament and a response from Employment Minister Guy Opperman confirmed the flaw.

Mr Opperman's letter said the automated process of adding Universal Credit applicants' data to their pension records State was suspended in 2017/18 and only corrections would be t not completed until April 2024.

"The vast majority of those affected are many years away from reaching statutory retirement age and will not be impacted ted by this issue when they make a state pension application,” the letter adds.

“For those who need to apply for their state pension, HMRC and DWP have put in place a manual process to correct NI records and indicate pensions.

"For those already applying for their state pension, who are affected by this issue, their state pension will be reassessed and any underpayments will be issued accordingly as part of the normal processes ."

< p>During the investigation, which was conducted by This is Money, it was claimed that the issue was "well known internally".

The website financial said he has contacted the DWP on several occasions with cases of missed national insurance credits while the Gov.uk website still claims universal credit seekers see their national insurance credits updated automatically.

It's Money found ten examples of cases that were missed.

DWP spokesperson: "All cases raised have now been resolved and we are sorry for the inconvenience.

"W We are working with HMRC on an improved process to add historical and future credits from Universal Credit National Insurance to credit records. 'National Insurance.'

The Independent has contacted DWP for further comment