Errors in the national insurance (NI) system have led to some women losing out on over £4,000 in state pension each year, with some potentially missing out on over £90,000 in state pension over 20 years.

The Government revealed that deleted data on child benefit means that some women have been getting less state pension than they are entitled to as their NI record is incomplete.

The error affects women in their 60s and 70s who were stay at home mums, and therefore should have received a national insurance credit in order to give them state pension entitlement for the years they were at home and receiving child benefit.

If they claimed child benefit before May 2000 and did not provide their NI number on the claim, their NI record may not show the correct number of qualifying years for home responsibilities protection (HRP).

The Government deletes the relevant child benefit information after five years due to data protection rules, so it is not known which women are affected.

If someone was claiming child benefit for 15 years and not working, they could be entitled to an additional 15 years of NI contributions, which could potentially be worth £4,543 per year, equating to £96,914 over 20 years, not including inflation.

Head of pensions and savings at interactive investor, Alice Guy, said: “It’s a tragedy that many women are living in unnecessary poverty due to this latest problem with the state pension. Someone caring for their kids as a stay-at-home mum for 16 years could receive a depressing £4,500 less state pension each year, by missing out on crucial national insurance credits due to this mistake. These are life-changing amounts and will make a huge impact on someone’s wellbeing in retirement.

“The state pension is crucially important, especially for many women who are less likely than men to have a private pension income and are more likely to be living in poverty in retirement.

“As a society we’ve decided to support women who take time out to care for their family by counting these years towards their state pension. It’s therefore it’s very sad that these women have been let down by the system and are now more likely to be facing poverty in old age.

“It’s vitally important that the government work hard to contact everyone affected as soon as possible to sort out this mistake. Sadly, many women affected could have died in poverty due to this mistake, with a much lower income than they were entitled to.”

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