State pension nightmare as woman, 100, misses out on £75,000 in decades' worth of payments

Margaret Bradshaw, who was born in Britain, lived and worked outside of the UK for nearly all her adult life so initially wasn’t entitled to a state pension when she returned in 1990. However, the 100-year-old did not realise that she started qualifying after her 80th birthday in 2001 – meaning she has missed out on decades of money.

After reading a news article about people not claiming pension, her 78-year-old daughter Helen Cunningham investigated the matter.

She discovered that her mother, who has dementia and lives in a care home, has been entitled to £82.45 a week since her 80th birthday.