State pension chaos causes stress and hardship for people turning 66

The £1billion underpaid state pensions scandal has seen women miss out on pensions they are due, we explain how to find out if you are owed money.

MPs accuse the DWP of showing ‘litte interest’ in helping women suddenly receiving large backpayments with the knock-on effects, like cuts to benefits or financial assistance with care bills.

We continue to hear complaints from readers about being fobbed off and given misleading information by DWP staff over state pension delays.

There are many legal ways to dodge the dreaded 40 per cent ‘death tax’ if you want to pass on the maximum sum possible and are prepared to plan ahead.

The Work and Pensions Committee says ministers and regulators must ‘help savers make better choice in the wake of pension freedom reforms.

Complaints are soaring as power firms are unleashing heavy-handed debt collectors over bills that have often been issued in error.

Too many people are confused by pensions and at risk of scams, and need more help in the run-up to retirement, according to MPs.

Trying to get to grips with pensions by yourself can feel like learning a language without a teacher. Some of these tips are aren’t common knowledge and could help your retirement.

I have a few years that say ‘you didn’t pay enough National Insurance this year, we are checking to see if this year will qualify’ but this message never changes. Why? And will they check?

Benefits such as Guarantee Pension Credit, Savings Pension Credit and Council Tax Reduction are going unclaimed by retirees that own their homes.

Pensions are often neglected in divorce settlements despite their value to both partners. Find out how they can be divided fairly and some of the worst traps.

Two fifths of retirees surveyed said they had no plan regarding how much they should spend each year. This is Money explains how to plan your later life finances.

Probate fees that allow relatives to access estates will be hiked by 27% on 26 January. The current large discount if you use a lawyer will be scrapped.

Pensions make up 42% of wealth in Britain, and property – minus mortgage debt – represents 36%, according to the latest research by the ONS.

Although one in four aims to retire at age 60, many simply have no clue what their pension savings will afford them.

I get the basic state pension. I also have additional SERPS and widower’s pension. Do these go up with the same annual percentage rise applied to my basic pension?

Some 40 per cent of adults describe themselves as concerned and 24 per cent as very concerned about inflation, according to the survey by Aegon.

Bosses must currently provide a workplace pension for staff aged 22 and earning more than £10,000 a year, but Tory MP Richard Holden is putting forward legislation to change the rules.

‘Many of those seeking to draw benefits as soon as possible may be shocked to learn that they will have to wait,’ warns the Pensions Management Institute.

Pensioners are facing a cost-of-living catastrophe as they are hammered by rising costs while relying on fuel support that has not risen in over ten years.

I have a defined contribution pension pot which remains invested. Will I have to pay a higher tax rate when I draw down funds from my pension pot if care home fees are greater than £50k?

The Government has not yet recognised the scale of the crisis elderly people face and must act now, argues Former Pensions Minister Baroness Altmann.

Former Pensions Minister Steve is This is Money’s Agony Uncle. Here’s where you can check out all his previous columns to see if any involve issues affecting you.

Our mother-in-law lost her husband in February. He was a Whitbread worker of 20 years, and Mercer tried it on by saying she was not eligible for a pension.

The state pension and contracting out, when to cut financial advisers loose, shirking employers and the new social care levy are among topics tackled by our agony uncle this year.

The state pension age currently stands at 66, but of those who plan to retire before then, a quarter plan to do so when they reach 60 according to insurer Aviva.

A fraught year looms for the older generations. Anger is set to mount over the state pension triple lock betrayal, controversial social care plans and a grim cost of living crisis.

I am shocked that no one advised mum on this point. She has scrimped and saved to pay her bills. The council have offered to return three months’ payments which is an insult.

The charity is calling on the Government to provide a one-off sum of £50 to everyone eligible for the Cold Weather Payment, to help them cope with rising costs.

The age at which someone can start collecting their state pension hit 66 last year. It is due to rise again to 67 between 2026 and 2028, and then to 68 by 2046

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) research, by Loughborough University, splits retirement lifestyles into three income categories – minimum, moderate or comfortable.

My friend is 73 and her state pension was calculated using her ex- husband’s NI contributions. I am 68 and am drawing a state pension in my own right.

We have helped one woman whose claim vanished into thin air, and another whose application was shut down by staff against her wishes.

We explain changes to the state pension age, so you can find out when you will be allowed to retire

The Government will look at bringing forward the age rise to 2037-2039 based on the latest life expectancy data, the costs of an aging population and the state pension, and labour market trends.

Former pensions minister, Steve Webb is calling on the Department of Work and Pensions to expand its current state pension correction exercise after new errors

I have been a mental health staff nurse since 1994 and two years ago I applied for my pension. I was informed by my Trust that their records show that my NHS employment started in the year 2000.

Some 1.5million people claim pension credit – only around six in ten of those who are entitled to it, new figures reveal.

Josephine Cameron, aged 73, was ignored or misinformed by staff who failed to spot she was on the wrong amount six separate times since 2015.

People with final salary pensions could see employers start offloading them to new ‘superfunds’ after the first scheme got the nod this week.

New research shows a third of over-55s want to leave money, property or possessions, but haven’t planned how they will do it. This is Money explains what you need to know.

The current charges cap for ‘default’ funds, used by the majority of workers, could be eased to exclude performance fees. These can be 20% on long term green infrastructure and other ventures.

Staff shortages meant more than 1.5 million hours of home care could not be provided between August and October, directors of social services across England have reported.

New Government proposals would cap the amount people pay for care at £86,000 – but critics say they penalise those on lower incomes.

Ms G.L. expected £10,000 from the commutation of her pension savings would be paid on October 1. There is still no sign of the money.

Teachers’ Pensions are changing the way it calculates final pensions from April 2022, and the pension age will rise for all members.

‘In most years it would be hyperbole to suggest there was a risk of older people freezing to death in their own homes, but the risk cannot be completely discounted this year,’ says Age UK.

Pension firms would have to offer anyone who has not paid for financial advice a ‘standardised’ investment fund – but charges would not be capped at 0.75% as they are in similar work funds.

Inheritance is a common source of family feuds, especially if it is not talked about in advance. This is Money explains everything will writers need to consider.

More than half of adults have changed retirement plans following the pandemic, mostly for the worse though some have emerged better off, new research reveals.

The new lifetime spending cap will be based on some, but not all, of people’s private contributions towards care.

My concern, which was shared by my mother, is that if the funds are given directly they may never actually be paid into the pensions!

Is the 25 per cent tax free allowance limited to up to 25 per cent of each individual pension pot or is it simply that you can take 25 per cent from any combination of pots you may happen to have?

She has £30,000 saved and owns her property outright. Will I have to move out? Will the savings and property be used for her care?

I am an office worker in my mid-30s and have built up a private pension, but if I take a new job will it make saving harder?

Pensioners are clearly being short-changed in the middle of a cost of living crisis, says the former Pensions Minister.

The smallprint of Boris Johnson’s cap on care costs reveals that poorer pensioners will lose out as they will have to spend more of their own money on care before they reach the £86,000 lifetime limit

I’m a 65-year-old widow, retired for six years, living on my private pension and savings. I was caught by the rapid rise in the women’s state pension age.

Their overturning of a rebel House of Lords amendment means the state pension will rise by 3.1 per cent next April, lagging inflation which is already thought to be running at 4 per cent.

I have been considering topping up some gap years via extra NI contributions. However, on contacting the Future Pension Centre I was advised not to waste money.

But to access the money, the bank insists on seeing the original grant of probate, which is no longer available.

Kathleen Smith bought her retirement flat for £124,000 and died eight years later. It took her family seven years to sell the property for just £60,000.

Readers are furious at housing minister Chris Pincher’s suggestion that pensioners ‘rattling around’ in large homes should be urged to downsize.

The Bank of England is expected to raise the base rate soon after it has sat at 0.1% since March last year. Annuity rates shoild rise too. An annuity pays out a guaranteed income until death.

Andrew Crocker, who turned 66 in May, said he was forced to rely on ‘tiny food parcels’ The retired builder from Pembrokeshire received no income for more than four months.

I have now just received my first payment of my state pension. On the letter it states where my husband’s name is ‘inherited pension zero’. Would this be correct?

Under the triple lock, state pension increases by the highest of price inflation, average earnings growth or 2.5%. The decision to ditch it, if only temporarily, has angered many.

The Government has closed a loophole in its plans to raise the minimum age when you can start tapping your private savings to 57.

Over-65s will be the worst hit by rising energy and food prices, and could soon see their savings and pension income devalued by soaring inflation.

All savers should receive tax relief of 20% on pension contributions. But due to a quirk in the system many do not benefit from this top-up.

In September, we reported how those reaching state pension age were being made to wait up to three months for their first payments.

The £44.7million sum covering July to September takes the total refunded since the beginning of pension freedoms in 2015 to almost £800million.

The Pensions Regulator says schemes could see a positive impact from considering climate change, including on expected returns for savers.

Would I be better opting out and joining another pension provider where I can transfer the £50k pot I’ve built up already, but which Royal Mail only contributes 3% of salary to?

We are joint tenants of both properties. We paid stamp duty as a second home for the second flat. What is the situation if one of us goes into a care home? Lawyer James Urquhart-Burton replies.

I want to make sure there are not any arguments between my children regarding selling or keeping the family home when I die. Lawyer Katie Alsop replies.

The pensions industry is united against the reforms, which are needlessly complicated and would leave the door open to fraudsters, says Tom Selby of AJ Bell.

Critics who had demanded action welcomed the announcement in the Autumn Budget, though one said it was ‘a shame’ the move would not happen sooner.

ReAssure told our reader that the policies couldn’t be located – but Money Mail’s probe led to a substantial payout.

At their height, nearly one million customers relied on the cards to collect pensions and child benefit. Today, there are still 320,000 active Post Office card accounts.

The Retirement Living Standards split spending expectations into three categories of lifestyle – our quiz shows if you are on track.

My birthday is in October and I reach my 66th birthday in 2027. On my Government pension page it states I can claim my state pension in May 2028. I do not understand why I have to wait.

Hundreds of homeowners have already saved huge sums following the launch of Age Partnership’s switching service in spring this year.

Pensioners will see the full state pension rise by £5.55 a week from next April, but they will lose out on nearly £500 a year after the triple lock promise was broken.

The PLSA ‘retirement living standards’, published today, give savers a picture of how much money they will need to maintain their lifestyle.

The coronavirus pandemic placed huge strain on millions of people’s incomes, but around one in seven now have more cash to spare, says Tom Selby of AJ Bell.

I only need a small amount to pay off a debt – is it possible to borrow from a private pension? I have had to temporary cease monthly payments.

Pension experts warn that savers with defined benefit pensions could be left trapped in a plan that does not suit them, leaving them without the financial flexibility they crave in older age.

Huntsman Hawkes asked the Ascentric platform firm to put just over £132,000 into a corporate bond. Huntsman collapsed, and my replacement Sipp firm said they wanted nothing to do with the bond.

‘I’m not sure there will even be a state pension by the time I get to pension age. I hope there is, but I just don’t know’, one younger despondent survey respondent said.

More than two thirds of the biggest final salary pension schemes have failed to make ‘robust’ commitments to fight the climate emergency, claims Make My Money Matter.

Nest moved my savings out of the Sharia Fund I had chosen and into its own Post Retirement Fund, and then moved me back again. All this was done without my permission.

Those already struggling to survive on the basic state pension of £179.60 a week – or less – point out that the soaring cost of living will swallow up more than an expected £6-a-week increase.

A lot of women are understandably asking if they missed out on thousands of pounds in state pension, and we explain how to find out and what to do if you are owed money by the DWP.

A 77-year-old woman who assumed she did not qualify for a state pension says it feels ‘like I have won the lottery’ after she received the huge backpayment.

Tens of thousands of women have died without receiving the state pension they were entitled to thanks to a catalogue of errors at the Department for Work and Pensions.

Our divorce didn’t state that we couldn’t share pensions, so I was wondering if I was entitled to a share of his private pension?

According to research by financial consultants Lane Clark & Peacock and insurer Aviva, the number of advisers providing advice on transferring out of a defined benefit pension is plummeting.

It is drummed into us that we need to invest for a comfortable retirement. But so often, life and other financial commitments get in the way, so we don’t get round to it. Here’s how to build your nest-egg.

Some £830million was paid by self-employed workers into personal pensions in the financial year of 2019/2020, down from £1.15billion the year before, and the lowest on record.

How can this be right when you if you’re on less than £177.10 per week you’re entitled to no end of help, which makes me worse off than the person getting the minimum amount.

Retired taxi driver Alf Morley, 73, contacted us saying he was ‘in desperation’ because he has no income and his reserves are going down rapidly while he waits for deferred payments to start.

The real toll of the scandal is holidays, daytrips, meals out, presents for the family and grandchildren and other treats that more money coming in would have brought.

Many women have died without knowing they were owed huge sums in state pension after shocking errors by the Government stretching back decades.

The National Audit Office has confirmed the devastating blunders made by the DWP in a scandal we uncovered alongside our columnist, former Pensions Minister Steve Webb.

More people could feel under pressure to unlock their pension in the coming months – and, under the pension freedoms, those aged 55 and over have flexibility as to how they take their cash.

One in five or some 1.25 women are living in poverty, says Age UK. Fewer retired men struggle financially in old age, but one in six or around 860,000 are also badly off.

I live only on the state pension. After the first year of increased NI contributions which I presume I will not have to pay, will I be liable to pay the new care tax that will be introduced?

People surviving on the basic state pension face an even tougher future after the Government broke a pledge to protect them from the rising cost of living. Toby found his experience discomforting.

The retirement wishlist of over-50s is taking holidays, gardening, spending time with friends and family, enjoying hobbies and playing sport. new research shows.

The minimum contribution may be 8 per cent of salary, but at some workplaces it can hit more than 20 per cent of salary, explains Becky O’Connor of Interactive Investor.

Shambolic service at the DWP means thousands of new retirees are having to wait months for their state pension. Former NHS worker Alison Maynard (pictured) first applied for her pension in February.

The Office of Public Guardian and Ministry of Justice want to simplify and speed up the process by eliminating paper applications and the need for an independent party to witness signatures.

The Association of British Insurers says the proposals set out in a consultation will cause ‘enormous confusion for pension savers.

After we exclusively revealed a service meltdown at the DWP, despairing elderly people trying to get payments started or end deferments have inundated us with stories and pleas for help.

Nearly a third said they were delaying retirement to save more towards their pensions, while 18 per cent were making up for lost savings caused by the pandemic.

My late father died intestate in January. His only asset was his home, which has been valued at £240,000. Our mother passed away prior to my father and she had no will.

The average age people expect to get shot of their mortgage is 59, new research reveals. But what can you do to avoid mortgage debt in retirement?

After being made redundant by British Airways last year, I have retrained as a teacher. I have two BA pensions and am wondering whether to move both or either into the teachers’ scheme.

Savers collect a string of pension pots during their working lives but only one in four have merged any of them, new research reveals.

Stockbroking experts from Killik & Co explain what to consider when investing at that age, and the contingency plans your father should put in place if he becomes unable to handle his own affairs.

All my mother’s accounts were closed and the money transferred, but the bank will not give details. I don’t get it! How come she could just help herself to everything and what can I do about it?

He uses the pension as the bond between us, because he knows my financial situation. I truly cannot stay because of this. Lawyer Steven Gasser, pictured left, replies.

There are two beneficiaries, my sister and her daughter who is also the executor. Do you think it is possible for me to make a claim for a share of the will? If so what do I do?

Do executors have the responsibility to sell the house to clear the debt, thus making the right to reside clause and trust irrelevant? Lawyer Helen Taylor replies.

Pensions are often a divorcing couple’s second biggest asset after the family home, and are sometimes worth even more, yet are frequently overlooked in financial settlements.

Pension freedoms mean retirees can now invest their savings how they like rather than buy a stingy annuity. But what do you need to consider and plan ahead for when funding retirement this way?

Why is there no protection in law when there has been probate fraud? I spent £2,000 on solicitors fees advising my estranged brother of the will. He chose to ignore all correspondence.

My daughter is getting divorced from her husband. They have been married for 18 years and lived together before that for seven years. He wants to keep their pensions out of the divorce.

I asked for a copy of the ‘deferred payment arrangement’ but it’s unsigned. The council has not formally asked for payment. Lawyer James Urquhart-Burton replies.

My husband says I need to reduce the offsetting figure during our divorce as he wishes to draw down all his pension at 55, although he will continue to work and he was 53 when we split due to his adultery.

My sister and I have had lasting power of attorney for our father for a number of years. He was diagnosed with dementia in March and has signed another LPA that he doesn’t remember doing.

Pension age deadlines are more fluid as older people have gained greater control over retirement dates and finances – but some birthdays are still markers for decisions and action.

My ex-husband contacted me recently because he intends to take advantage of the change in UK pension law, to allow him to withdraw 25% now and the balance in monthly or yearly payments.

My brother and I are left equal shares of his house, but on my father’s death the property is held in trust with the condition that my brother can live there indefinitely, rent free and cannot be evicted.

A selection of Steve’s top columns can help you avoid being scammed, understand the mysteries of the new state pension, and gain peace of mind by making the most of your pension savings.

James Urquhart-Burton, partner at Ridley & Hall Solicitors and an expert in care funding, explains how to make an application for yourself, or a loved one.

James Urquhart-Burton, partner at Ridley & Hall Solicitors and an expert in care funding, lays out the potential grounds for objecting to an NHS refusal and how to make a successful appeal.

In a stinging report, tax officials said people ‘can easily disadvantage themselves’ in a system that ‘appears illogical’, and told the Government to find a way to restore lost credits to parents.

Thousands are facing a poorer retirement as a result of innocent mistakes over paperwork. Nandia Needham, pictured with husband Martin, could be £20k out of pocket over a 20-year retirement.

The couple managed to convince HMRC they were unaware his filling in the child benefit form could result in her losing state pension in old age, in a case that could help many other parents.

It may not seem like a grand romantic gesture, but making sure your spouse is financially comfortable in retirement, will go a long way towards securing your future happiness together.

Hoard your pension and spend other cash and investments first, to keep your money away from the taxman. That’s the advice experts are dishing out to retirees worried about inheritance tax.

Elderly investors have to balance the need to make withdrawals yet keep a pot as intact as possible – whether to avoid running out of money or bequeath a pension to loved ones.

Grappling with the benefits monster can be daunting, particularly for those struggling with common side effects such as nausea, fatigue and chemo brain so here’s everything you need to know.

Many people put off thinking about their mortality. But there is vital paperwork to sort out before your time comes to an end.

Death is unavoidable – but the way we are laid to rest is still largely in our control. We examine the key decisions you need to make on a funeral.

With-profits policyholders often face an impossible choice about when to take their benefits. Turn down today’s offer and tomorrow’s may be lower. How can you decide when it’s time to leave?

Pension freedom reforms will give people more decision-making power over their retirement savings. But as ever, the more you have, the more freedom you will enjoy.

If you signed up to a work pension scheme but took no further action, your savings are most likely in a ‘default’ investment fund. How do you check if it’s any good?