Inadequate state pension
Systemic issues leading to the State Pension being inadequate for many pensioners, causing financial difficulties and hardship.
Source spread
Where this theme appears
This theme appears across 4 independent accountability sources, so the source mix matters as much as the headline total.
100 committee recs
4 PHSO recs
8 IMB recs
7 LGO/SPSO decisions
Browse by source
Source-grouped records are useful for tracing where a concern came from. Large sections show the 50 strongest matches for that source; counts still show the full theme total.
Select committee recommendations(100)— showing 50 strongest matches
#22 —
Recommendation: It is concerning that people approaching State Pension age may need to draw on their pension savings to bridge the gap before they get their State Pension, rather than those savings being available into old age. There is a worrying …
Response Pending
#18 —
Recommendation: We heard widespread support for this but less consensus on what form it should take. On balance we support increasing the level of Universal Credit (UC) for all recipients in the year before State Pension age because it has a …
Response Pending
#17 —
Recommendation: We agree with the Minister that there are consequences to State Pension age increases which can, and should, be taken seriously. There is evidence that the longer wait for their State Pension will harm 66-year-olds unable 64 to keep working …
Response Pending
#16 —
Recommendation: Based on the evidence we have received, there is a clear justification for providing additional social security support for those unable to keep working in the years approaching State Pension age. While pension age rises have been justified on grounds …
Response Pending
#15 —
Recommendation: We acknowledge government initiatives to address these challenges, including the Mayfield Review. However, as the Second Pensions Commission concluded, success will require a concerted effort across government and industry. We welcome the Minister for Pensions’ recognition that a cross- government …
Response Pending
#14 —
Recommendation: We heard that many older workers struggle to continue in demanding jobs, sometimes to the detriment of their health. The ‘double jeopardy’ of ageism and disablism may mean they hesitate to request support and if they leave one job, may …
Response Pending
#11 —
Recommendation: A further effect of the rise from 65 to 66 was an increase in employment, with the largest effects for those with the lowest educational attainment and those living in the most deprived areas. We were concerned to hear that, …
Response Pending
#10 —
Recommendation: We agree with the Minister that it is important to consider the distributional effects of State Pension age increases. The results are felt unevenly. We know that the last increase resulted in a more than doubling of poverty for 65-year-olds. …
Response Pending
#5 —
Recommendation: The government must work towards a sufficiently clear adequacy objective to guide its future decisions on State Pensions and state entitlements. It should say whether a State Pension that tries to avoid poverty but does not necessarily deliver adequacy, represents …
Response Pending
#4 —
Recommendation: We agree with the Second Pensions Commission that current policy is not grounded in clear objectives for adequacy and that it would help guide future policy to define what ‘adequate’ means in a way that accurately represents pensioners’ financial resources …
Response Pending
#3 —
Recommendation: We recognise that there are challenges ahead, with an ageing population meaning rising costs in a tight fiscal environment. In future decisions, on the State Pension and other state entitlements for pensioners, it will be important for the government to …
Response Pending
#2 —
Recommendation: The risk is that outcomes from these important reviews come too late for many reaching State Pension age in the next few years. The impacts of the rise to 67 will be very uneven. For many unable to keep working, …
Response Pending
#1 —
Recommendation: We welcome the fact that the government asked Dr Suzy Morrissey to balance fairness and sustainability in her independent review of the State Pension age and set up a Second Pensions Commission to make recommendations on broader questions of adequacy, …
Response Pending
#1 —
Recommendation: On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Work & Pensions on the issue of underpayments in State Pension1
Gov response: Based on a report by the National Audit Office, the Committee took evidence on Thursday 28 October 2021 from the Department for Work & Pensions. The Committee published its report on 21 January 2022. This …
Not Addressed
#3 —
Recommendation: The Department has not given people who are worried they have been underpaid enough information to find out what they should do, with the risk that many may still miss out on money they should receive. The Department’s communications strategy …
Gov response: 3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 3.2 The department welcomes the endorsement of action already taken with their proposed recommendation, although rejects the Committee’s conclusion. As the department set out in …
Accepted
#2 —
Recommendation: The Department’s complacency about the level of underpayments inherent in its approach to administering State Pension has led it to fail pensioners. The Department’s highly manual systems and complex State Pension rules has led to calculation errors and the underpayment …
Gov response: 2025. This should be broken down by how much coverage is being achieved by: • individual commercial suppliers, such as Openreach, Virgin Media O2 and smaller suppliers know as alternative networks or “alt-nets” etc., and …
Accepted
#29 —
Recommendation: In our January 2022 report, we warned that, given the nature of underpayments identified, there was a risk that similar, unidentified errors existed in the State Pension caseload.60 In 2021–22 the Department identified several new groups of pensioners potentially affected …
Gov response: 6c. PAC recommendation: The department should as part of its Treasury Minute response, work with HMRC to fully evaluate the extent of the HRP underpayment as soon as possible and provide a timetable of when …
Not Addressed
#27 —
Recommendation: In January 2021 the Department launched an exercise to review around 400,000 cases ‘at risk’ of underpayment to confirm the extent of the issue and reimburse affected pensioners. The Department wrote to us in May 2022 explaining that it was …
Gov response: 6b. PAC recommendation: The department should explain how it will update its communications to reassure pensioners that they will be meaningfully compensated. 6.8 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 6.9 The department …
Accepted
#6 —
Recommendation: The Department’s efforts to correct the systemic underpayment of State Pension are too slow to meaningfully put things right. The Department now estimates that 237,000 pensioners have been underpaid a total of £1.46 billion in their State Pension. Despite these …
Gov response: The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. the National Insurance records maintained by HMRC. Activity has been underway in HMRC closely supported by this department, to understand more about the scale, potential causes, and options …
Accepted
#34 — Establish a plan to ensure State Pension adequacy for all, reviewing undermining system aspects.
Recommendation: Once an objective for the State Pension relating to adequacy has been agreed, the Government should put in place a plan for getting everyone to that level. The first step should be to review those aspects of the state pension …
Gov response: The Government is committed to enabling tomorrow’s pensioners to have security in retirement which is why we announced a landmark review of the pensions system days after coming into office last July. The Pensions Investment …
Position Not Stated
#33 — Many pensioners, including 2.1 million, rely on inadequate State Pension and experience hardship.
Recommendation: One in eight pensioners rely solely on the state pension and it makes up 80% of the retirement income of the poorest pensioners. The Minister for Pensions said to us that the State Pension formed the ‘bedrock of Government support’ …
Gov response: The Government remains steadfast in its commitment to support pensioners and giving them the dignity and security they deserve in retirement. The last Labour Government lifted over one million pensioners out of poverty. It introduced …
Not Addressed
#30 — State pension design and level significantly influence pensioner poverty and health outcomes.
Recommendation: We note evidence from the UK and internationally shows that the design and level of state pension benefits can have a significant impact on pensioner poverty, as well as improving health outcomes. (Conclusion, Paragraph 146)
Gov response: The Government is also looking to the future of our pensions system. Automatic Enrolment has been a success with 9 out of 10 eligible employees saving into a workplace pension, but future generations of pensioners …
Not Addressed
#12 — Winter Fuel Payment changes created significant uncertainty and anxiety among older pensioners
Recommendation: Our predecessor Committee is amongst those that have criticised Winter Fuel Payments for being poorly targeted and a ‘blunt instrument’ for tackling fuel poverty. As a universal payment, WFP went to pensioners who did not need it, and its real …
Response Not Attributed
#1 — Pensioner poverty has risen since 2010, leaving millions below the Minimum Income Standard.
Recommendation: The reductions in pensioner poverty in the late 1990s and 2000s, with the introduction of Pension Credit, were a success. However, we are concerned that from 2010 rates started to rise again. And the latest data on living standards paints …
Gov response: The Government remains steadfast in its commitment to support pensioners and giving them the dignity and security they deserve in retirement. The last Labour Government lifted over one million pensioners out of poverty. It introduced …
Response Not Attributed
#1 — Welsh farming remains a vital but low-income and demanding profession.
Recommendation: In Wales, farming is a vital profession, central to the preservation of the Welsh language and rural culture. Despite its significance, it remains a physically demanding, low-income sector, largely made up of small, family- run livestock farms with an average …
Gov response: The farming sector in Wales plays an essential role in supporting the Government’s Growth Mission and in delivering our Plan for Change. In addition to being an important contributor to the Welsh economy, farming continues …
Not Addressed
#38 —
Recommendation: We are concerned that some individuals will have received inflated State Pension forecasts because these did not show deductions for contracting out. Some of them may have lost the opportunity to do things differently, for example, to continue working for …
Response Pending
#33 —
Recommendation: More than 15 years on from its introduction, the government should commission and publish analysis of the impact of the mixed age couple rule on those affected and how this will change as the State Pension age rises to 67. …
Response Pending
#32 —
Recommendation: We remain concerned about the impact of the mixed age couple rule. There are gaps in our understanding of its impact on the living standards and health of the 70,000 households affected and how this might change as the State …
Response Pending
#28 —
Recommendation: State Pension age rises risk exacerbating existing inequalities in health and lifetime earnings. This should be reflected in impact assessments on State Pension age rises but is not. (Conclusion, Paragraph 116)
Response Pending
#25 —
Recommendation: The Secretary of State should make a statement confirming that healthy life expectancy is a relevant factor for State Pension age reviews under section 27 of the Pensions Act 2014. (Recommendation, Paragraph 109)
Response Pending
#24 —
Recommendation: The 2011 and 2013 impact assessments of the increase to 67 are outdated and insufficient. They do not reflect recent increases in work-limiting ill- health or deepening inequality in healthy life expectancy. The previous government decided to proceed with the …
Response Pending
#21 —
Recommendation: The Secretary of State’s own State Pension age review should consult on a longer-term approach to additional social security support for those unable to work to State Pension age. This should model the costs and benefits of different options, taking …
Response Pending
#20 —
Recommendation: We acknowledge that this proposal would not go far enough to improve health outcomes for people who have had to leave work due to ill-health or caring responsibilities in their mid-60s. We should not be in this position. If the …
Response Pending
#19 —
Recommendation: We are disappointed that the Minister seemed disinclined to consider specific additional support to pre-pensioners. We are also disappointed at the lack of evidence-based policy-making that has been driving this and policy making more generally in the DWP. We recommend …
Response Pending
#13 —
Recommendation: The Minister for Pensions explained that the department’s plans to support the transition to State Pension age for the rise to 67 was to support older workers in the labour market, through initiatives such as WorkWell, Pathways to Work and …
Response Pending
#12 —
Recommendation: In response to this report, the department should commission research on the health impacts of later working from the State Pension age increase from 65 to 66. (Recommendation, Paragraph 61) 63
Response Pending
#17 —
Recommendation: When we asked if the Department is able to provide greater clarity to those who think they may have been affected, the Department said that it cannot publish guidance for those who may have been underpaid, such as an online …
Gov response: 3.2 The department welcomes the endorsement of action already taken with their proposed recommendation, although rejects the Committee’s conclusion. As the department set out in the Committee hearing on 28 October 2021 (see questions 149 …
Not Addressed
#8 —
Recommendation: People in generation X and older without access Defined Benefit pension saving will have had limited time to build up pension savings through auto-enrolment and are therefore at risk of not hitting their retirement adequacy targets. We recommend the Government …
Gov response: We do not believe now is the right time to consult and we have taken steps to address this challenge, including introducing the new state pension, providing further information and guidance to savers and considering …
Accepted
#30 —
Recommendation: The NAO reported that the Department cannot rule out that there may be further groups of pensioners, as yet unidentified, that have been affected by a historic underpayment. It concluded that this was in large part because the Department had …
Gov response: 6d. PAC recommendation: By the publication of its next Annual Report & Accounts, set out a plan and timetable for introducing a measure to report the total value of arrears payments that arise due to …
Accepted
#28 —
Recommendation: In our January 2022 report we were concerned that the Department had not given people who were worried that they had been underpaid enough information to find out what they should do, and that there was a risk that many …
Gov response: 6c. PAC recommendation: The department should as part of its Treasury Minute response, work with HMRC to fully evaluate the extent of the HRP underpayment as soon as possible and provide a timetable of when …
Accepted
#25 —
Recommendation: We examined the Department’s systemic underpayment of State Pension in January
Gov response: 6. PAC conclusion: The Department’s efforts to correct the systemic underpayment of State Pension are too slow to meaningfully put things right.
Not Addressed
#41 — State Pension age increases disproportionately impact deprived areas, raising pre-pensioner poverty levels.
Recommendation: The State Pension age is an important tool for containing the costs of the State Pension. However, improvements in life expectancy across the country have stalled. People living in the most deprived areas of the country have lower life expectancy …
Gov response: The previous Government published impact assessments, including equality analysis, of the increase in State Pension age to 67 ahead of the legislation being introduced in 2011 and 2013: • Impact Assessment - Long term State …
Response Not Attributed
#39 — Rising number of private renting pensioners are at increased risk of poverty from Local Housing Allowance.
Recommendation: The Pensions Policy Institute expects the number and proportion of pensioners renting privately to grow from around 6% now to 17% in 2041. As many as 400,000 households could become dependent on means-tested benefits. Pensioners renting privately are already at …
Gov response: The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) determines the maximum housing support for tenants in the private rented sector. It ensures that households, including pensioners, in similar circumstances living in the same area are entitled to the …
Response Not Attributed
#32 — Consult on State Pension objectives, aiming for dignified living standards and reducing pensioner inequality.
Recommendation: The pensions adequacy review should consult on objectives for the State Pension, taking account of adequacy, sustainability and fairness. Given that it is the core of the Government’s offer to pensioners, relied on by many pensioners on low incomes, a …
Gov response: The Government is committed to enabling tomorrow’s pensioners to have security in retirement which is why we announced a landmark review of the pensions system days after coming into office last July. The Pensions Investment …
Response Not Attributed
#4 — Require the pensions adequacy review to consider pension inequalities and poverty in retirement
Recommendation: The pensions adequacy review should consider pension inequalities, the groups who are more likely to live in poverty in retirement, and how this will be addressed. (Recommendation, Paragraph 30) 81 Impact on older people
Gov response: The Pensions Commission’s terms of reference specifically include considerations of adequacy and how to improve retirement outcomes, especially for those on the lowest incomes and at the greatest risk of poverty in retirement and groups …
Position Not Stated
#2 — Women face systemic challenges and policy 'blind spots' in pension system design.
Recommendation: Improving pension outcomes requires an understanding of the systemic challenges. Of the groups at risk, we took most evidence on the position of women, who make up two-thirds (67%) of pensioners in poverty. Some positive steps have been taken to …
Gov response: We remain committed to monitoring the Gender Pensions Gap (GPeG). This was recognised as important context within the Pensions Commission Terms of Reference which consider the factors that contribute to inequalities in retirement outcomes such …
Not Addressed
#39 —
Recommendation: We recommend that DWP report on the decisions which led to some people receiving inflated State Pension forecasts, what it has learned from this and the actions it will take to prevent a repetition. The report should also set out …
Response Pending
#36 —
Recommendation: We are concerned to hear that around one in five of those with a State Pension age of 67 may not have accurate awareness of this in time to make informed decisions about their retirement. We are also concerned at …
Response Pending
#31 —
Recommendation: In response to this report, the department should explain: whether it accepts that pre-pensioner and pensioner poverty have a downstream impact, for example, on demand for health and social care services; how it will reflect this in its impact assessments …
Response Pending
#9 —
Recommendation: The government must: • confirm that a core task for the Secretary of State’s State Pension age review, due by March 2029, will be to consider those groups on whom State Pension age increases have a disproportionately negative impact and …
Response Pending
PHSO ombudsman recommendations(4)
Women's State Pension age: our findings on injustice and associated issues
We did not find that the sample complainants suffered an unremedied injustice because of maladministration in DWP's communication about the number of National Insurance qualifying years needed for a full State Pension. But it is possible others have lost opportunities …
Women's State Pension age: our findings on injustice and associated issues
Our Principles for Remedy say public bodies should offer remedies, where appropriate, to others who have suffered injustice as a result of the same maladministration. We would have recommended DWP provides a remedy for others who have suffered injustice because …
Women's State Pension age: our findings on injustice and associated issues
We have explained our thinking about where on our severity of injustice scale the sample complainants' injustice sits. We would have recommended they are paid compensation at level 4 of the scale.
Women's State Pension age: our findings on injustice and associated issues
We would have recommended DWP acknowledges the maladministration we have found and apologises for the impact it has had on complainants and others similarly affected.
IMB individual recommendations(8)
Springhill (2023)
For men not in full-time work, levels of pay have fallen well behind price increases and the Governor’s ability to award meaningful local pay rises. What plans does the Prison Service have to address this issue?
HMPPS
In Progress
Norwich (2025)
When will a realistic minimum rate for prisoners’ pay be set under Prison Service Order (PSO) 4460, with corresponding increases made to prison budgets?
Ministry of Justice
Whitemoor (2023)
Will the Governor seek ways of increasing prisoners’ pay rates in line with public sector scales to help compensate for substantial price increases?
Governor / Director
Wealstun (2023)
To consider increasing prisoner rates of pay in line with inflation.
Governor / Director
Wymott (2021)
Is it anticipated that there will be an increase in the budget for prisoners’ pay very soon (see paragraph 7.2.5)?
HMPPS
Dartmoor (2022)
What reassurance can the Minister offer that prisoners currently in Dartmoor will not be further harmed or discriminated against, compared with other prisoners elsewhere in the national prison estate, due to a lack of staff and a failure to invest in the infrastructure, security, kitchens, laundry, in-cell telephony, TV systems, new showers and other equipment?
Ministry of Justice
Derwentside IRC (2023)
To increase the hourly rate for paid work for detained women.
Home Office
Bure (2024)
The Board again asks when will the Minister consider the introduction of a national minimum wage for prisoners? The rates of pay vary considerably between prisons, yet prisoners nationally must pay the same for canteen and catalogue items. Prisoners are obviously not able to leave employment to move to a higher paid job.
Ministry of Justice
Noted
LGO / SPSO decisions(7)
24-013-793 — Bedford Borough Council
Summary: Mr X complained the Council has failed to properly complete his financial assessments or correctly consider his disability related expenses, which has resulted in unaffordable care charges and a substantial debt. We found the Council at fault for not identifying and assisting Mr X in managing his escalating debt, …
LGO (Local Government & …
Adult Care Services
Upheld
Jul 2025
25-006-508 — Hampshire County Council
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about an alleged debt owing to the Council for a disabled facilities grant given thirty years ago. The passage of time makes it difficult to investigate and reach a safe conclusion. However, based on the information that is available it is unlikely we …
LGO (Local Government & …
Adult Care Services
Oct 2025
24-016-923 — City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision on the Complainant’s disabled facilities grant application. There is insufficient evidence of fault.
LGO (Local Government & …
Adult Care Services
Oct 2025
21-003-767 — Cornwall Council
Summary: Miss X complained about the way the Council handled her application for a Disabled Facilities Grant. She said the amount offered is not enough to meet the cost of the proposed works. Miss X said her life is at risk without access to accessible basics. We do not find …
LGO (Local Government & …
Adult Care Services
Not Upheld
May 2022
21-009-109 — Durham County Council
Summary: Mrs B complained the Council has wrongly decided she should pay in full for her care. She also says the Council was wrong to include the money she gifted to her son when it completed its financial assessment. We find no fault in the Council’s decision making.
LGO (Local Government & …
Adult Care Services
Not Upheld
Jul 2022
24-011-241 — London Borough of Harrow
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of his mother’s benefits payments when she fell ill. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.
LGO (Local Government & …
Benefits And Tax
Dec 2024
23-018-027 — London Borough of Lambeth
Mr X complains the Council has housed him in unsuitable temporary accommodation and is in the wrong banding for his medical priority need. We find fault with the Council for failing to find suitable alternative temporary accommodation for Mr X. We agreed a financial remedy for the frustration and distress …
LGO (Local Government & …
Housing
Upheld
Oct 2024