BORN BEFORE 1960? Check Your State Pension Before It's Too Late

If you were born before 1960 and you're collecting the State Pension, the amount landing in your account every four weeks might be wrong — and the DWP will never write to tell you. In this video I explain why errors creep into National Insurance records, how a single missing qualifying year quietly costs you around £6.89 a week for life, and the exact steps to check your own record and put it right. I also cover the separate underpayment scandal that's left married women and widows owed thousands, and who needs to pick up the phone before the correction window closes.I'm an accountant by background — but I'm not your accountant, and this isn't personal financial advice. It's the plain-English explanation nobody at the DWP sits you down to give.WHAT I COVER IN THIS VIDEO How the new State Pension is actually calculated — and why 35 qualifying years matters Why records from the 1970s, 80s and 90s are riddled with errors (paper forms, manual entry, name changes after marriage) What one missing qualifying year really costs you over a 20-year retirement The married women and widows underpayment scandal — and the groups the DWP is still waiting to hear from The exact three steps to check your record, gather proof, and open a correction Why a long-gone employer is not the dead end people assume The timing trap that makes older errors harder to fix — and why waiting costs you CHAPTERS 00:00 [chapters to be added after recording]KEY FIGURES (correct as of the 2025/26 tax year) Full new State Pension: £241.30 a week (just over £12,500 a year) Qualifying years needed for the full amount: 35 Approximate cost of one missing year: £6.89 a week — around £358 a year, permanently DWP underpayments identified Jan 2021–Mar 2025: close to 131,000 cases, over £800 million owed Average correction — married women: around £5,500. Widows: over £11,000 Correction exercise runs until: March 2027 FREE HELP — USE IT You don't have to work any of this out alone, and it costs nothing. Pension Wise (via MoneyHelper) — free government guidance on your pension options: moneyhelper.org.uk Citizens Advice — free help with the practical steps: citizensadvice.org.uk Check your National Insurance record: gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record HMRC National Insurance enquiries: 0300 200 3500 The Pension Service (married women/widows underpayment): 0800 731 0469 A NOTE FROM OLIVER I'm a chartered accountant and I've spent years on the inside of how this system works. But I'm not your accountant, and nothing here is personal financial advice for your situation. Always check your own circumstances, and use the free services above if you'd like to talk it through with someone.If this helped, the kindest thing you can do is send it to one person you know who was born before 1960 and is drawing their State Pension right now. One share could put hundreds of pounds a year back where it belongs.👍 Subscribe and turn on the bell — the rules change every year, and I'll keep you ahead of them.#StatePension #UKPensions #Retirement #NationalInsurance #DWP #PensionUnderpayment #RetirementUK #MoneyHelper #PensionWise #StatePensionUK