Pension payments from DWP 'BLOCKED' for 100,000s of Britons by the taxman,

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Mothers are still waiting on pension arrears from the DWP, according to a leading firm representing thousands of women impacted by the issue

Pension payments owed to vulnerable Britons by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) are being "blocked" by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), analysts claimed.

Hundreds of thousands of mothers across the UK are being prevented from collecting pension arrears they are owed, with the taxman accused of throttling claims even as the DWP stands ready to release the funds.

Pension reclaims specialist AskRose has pointed the finger squarely at HMRC, arguing the tax authority is responsible for a collapse in payments to women who lost out on pension contributions after stepping away from employment to raise children.

The women affected had gaps in their National Insurance records during periods spent as primary carers, entitling them to back payments under the Home Responsibilities Protection scheme.

Government figures reveal that total arrears payments to affected women plunged from £101million in 2024/25 to only £7million in the year running up to March 2026.

A reserve fund originally standing at £1.2billion was cut to just £29million after the department determined that the overwhelming majority of women contacted by HMRC were unlikely to come forward.

Of 67,000 applications lodged with HMRC, fewer than a third, just 21,878 cases, were forwarded to the DWP for payment. From that already reduced pool, only 12,379 claimants actually received any arrears money.

The DWP has earmarked £22million for the current financial year, a sum that campaigners say falls drastically short of what is required.

Sir Peter Schofield, who served as DWP permanent secretary, voiced his unease to MPs in January, telling them he remains concerned that many state pensioners continue to miss out on "the money that they are entitled to".

He said: "The number of people coming through was much lower than we had anticipated it being, and therefore holding those staff ready, waiting for cases that did not come in, did not make operational sense."

HMRC's outreach efforts resulted in only 92 per cent of the women failing to respond. Firms report that they have been locked out of submitting client applications for nine months, and that HMRC imposes weekly caps on the number of claims each firm may process.

Elaine Walker, director at AskRose, said: "The DWP has set aside £22million for this year. With an average payout of more than £8,377, this means that they will be able to pay 2,676 claimants.

"At AskRose alone, we have more than 100,000 claimants on our books, patiently waiting for HMRC to process their claims. The government has only allotted a fraction of what would be needed to give these women what they deserve.

"HMRC has been dragging its feet on this issue for a long time and it is staggering that the DWP has been putting resources into this while HMRC has been allowing it to waste those resources."

Prior to 2010, women required 39 qualifying years and men 44, but each year of HRP knocked one year off that total, up to a ceiling of 22 years.

Eligibility extended to those who claimed Child Benefit for a child under 16, partners of Child Benefit recipients who served as the primary carer, individuals receiving Income Support in a caring capacity, and those looking after a sick or disabled person in receipt of certain benefits.