Pensions boost for women in 60s

Half a million women in their 60s could receive unexpected payouts from the state pension system of £1,000 or more a year, according to information obtained by a Liberal Democrat MP.

Steve Webb revealed that women who had paid into the national insurance system but had not met the 10-year criteria to receive a state pension could become entitled to one by making backdated payments to top up their contributions.

“The typical scenario is a woman who left school, paid a few years’ national insurance contributions, got married, spent time at home with children and did not quite have the 10 years’ contributions needed to get any pension at all,” said Webb.

Someone who failed to make payment for any tax year from 1996-97 and the year before she reached the age of 60 could now pay those contributions and be entitled to a backdated pension from their 60th birthday, he said.

A year’s backdated contributions could cost as much as £400 but this money could be deducted by the government from the total amount it pays out, added Webb.