The WASPI controversy points to wider issues around access to DWP support, experts have said. Thousands of women could be missing out on the extra help they are due.

The WASPI campaign group (Women Against State Pension Inequality) represents the generation of women born in the 1950s who were affected when the state pension age for women increased from 60 to 65 and then 66. They claim the DWP did not properly inform them they would have to wait several more years to claim their payments, ruining their retirement plans when they found out.

The campaigners have fought for over a decade to get DWP compensation, but Labour ministers recently announced there would no payouts. Rebecca Lamb, external relations manager at benefits Money Wellness, said there is a wider problem with people not getting the DWP payments they are due.

She said: “We see thousands of women approaching retirement who’re completely unaware of what they’re entitled to, and it’s not just a WASPI problem. Women are often worse off because of career breaks, part-time work, caring responsibilities, and divorce, which creates gaps in pensions and National Insurance.”

You typically need 35 years of National Insurance contributions to get the full new state pension, which is currently worth £230.25 a week. Payments for the state pension will increase 4.8 percent in April, in line with the triple lock.

Many people don’t realise

Ms Lamb pointed to one scheme that people don’t know about. She said: “Many don’t realise that tools like Carer’s Credit can help protect years spent caring, or that pension sharing on divorce can preserve entitlements.”

Carer’s Credit can cover gaps in your National Insurance record, if you care for someone for at least 20 hours a week. The person you care for must receive one of certain benefits, such as the daily living element of PIP or Attendance Allowance.

Ms Lamb warned that there can be “serious” consequences in missing out on support. She explained: “Women are far more likely than men to rely on Pension Credit, with around two-thirds of claimants being women, yet an estimated 880,000 households miss out entirely.

“Pension Credit can add up to £3,500 for singles or £5,500 for couples and unlock help with council tax, housing, and energy bills. Missing out can mean years of unnecessary financial struggle.”

Pension Credit tops up your weekly income, with the average claim worth over £4,300 a year in support. Another concern when it comes to people not understanding the rules is that a major change to the state pension is coming up.

Everyone should check this

Ms Lamb said: “With the state pension age rising to 67 from April 2026, and later to 68, it’s vital everyone checks their pension forecast and National Insurance record. Rules change, and assumptions based on previous generations can leave people unprepared and facing financial hardship in retirement.”

The state pension age is now 66 for both men and women, and will increase in stages from April 2026 to reach 67 by April 2028. Legislation is also in place for the access age to move up again, from 67 to 68, between April 2044 and April 2046.

Ms Lamb urged: “If you’re worried about how you’ll make your budget stretch, speak to free services like Money Wellness, who can help you plan ahead and check you’re not missing out on the vital support that you’re entitled to.”

Declaring the decision to reject compensation in January, work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden said: “We accept that individual letters about changes to the state pension age could have been sent earlier. For this, I want to repeat the apology that (former work and pensions secretary Ms Kendall) gave on behalf of the Government.

“And I am sorry that those letters were not sent sooner. We also agree with the (Parliamentary and Health Service) Ombudsman that women did not suffer any direct financial loss from the delay.”

He added: “The evidence, taken as a whole, including from 2007, suggests the majority of 1950s-born women would not have read and recalled the contents of an unsolicited pensions letter, even if it had been sent earlier.

“Furthermore, the evidence also suggests that those less knowledgeable about pensions, the very women who most needed to engage with a letter and where it might have made a difference, were the least likely to read it, so an earlier letter would have been unlikely to make a difference to what the majority of women knew about their own state pension age.”