The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) identified 12,379 underpayments between 8 January 2024 and 31 March 2025, totalling around £104m in arrears for those affected by Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) State Pension underpayments.

According to the update, the average arrears paid was £8,377 between 8 January 2024 and 31 March 2025.

In the same period, HMRC sent 370,018 letters. It also processed 8,639 applications under the state pension age and 44,296 applications over the state pension age.

In total, the DWP received 22,781 cases from HMRC and processed 21,878 of them.

The error around HRP arose because many Child Benefit claim forms submitted before 2000 did not include a National Insurance number, meaning that the relevant HRP was not carried across from the Child Benefit computer to the National Insurance computer.

This update follows the previous update published in November 2024, which showed that DWP identified 5,344 underpayments between 8 January 2024 and 30 September 2024, who were owed total arrears of around £42m.

In addition to the data, the DWP published a report examining why individuals identified by HMRC as potentially missing HRP had not applied for it after receiving their letters.

The report aimed to uncover the barriers that hindered applications and the ability to confirm eligibility.

Several barriers were identified, with many participants expressing a lack of trust in the letters or failing to comprehend their personal relevance.

Additionally, the government's shift to a digital application process posed challenges, particularly for the elderly women contacted, many of whom had limited internet skills.

The report also highlighted that participants faced risk aversion and lacked confidence in distinguishing between legitimate communications and scams, with no clear solutions to address these concerns.

Other key findings included that some individuals did not remember receiving the letter, while others believed it did not pertain to them, and many struggled to recognize that HRP was linked to a historical child benefit claim.

Industry experts previously raised concerns over the pace of the government's progress in addressing HRP errors, which is set to continue until 2027/28.

---