A 100-year-old woman has missed out on £75,000 because she did not realise she was entitled to a state pension for the last 20 years.
Margaret Bradshaw is from the UK but spent 30 years of her adult life living and working in Canada.
As she had made no national insurance contributions during her time abroad, she was not entitled to an over-60s pension when she came home in 1990.
But the grandmother-of-nine, who lives in a care home in Addlestone, Surrey, was entitled to £82.45 a week once she turned 80.
Pensions for over-80s do not rely on national insurance contributions and are available for anyone who does not get a basic state pension.
Ms Bradshaw’s 78-year-old daughter, Helen Cunningham, said: ‘I had never even heard of an over 80 pension until a few weeks ago – we were never made aware of it when mother turned 80.
‘I had been getting quite nervous about mother’s financial situation for some time as care homes are very expensive, so I felt some relief learning she was entitled to more – even if she missed out for 20 years.
‘But there might be hundreds of other people out there who don’t realise what they’re entitled to.’
The 100-year-old former nanny, who has dementia, finally started getting her weekly £82.45 on June 30 after living for years on a small pension from jobs in Canada.
She has also received backdated payments up to £4,000 but the remaining £71,000 is lost forever.
Ms Cunningham, who reached out to pensions minister Steve Webb for help, said: ‘I’m glad mother has it now, but it shouldn’t have taken her getting to 100 to find out about it.
‘£75,000 is a lot to have missed out on and I’m sure we aren’t the only ones that didn’t know.
‘I have no idea why it has been kept so quiet but I encourage people to look into it and find out what they might be entitled to. I’m so grateful to Steve Webb for helping us.’
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