A 100-year-old great-grandmother has just started claiming her pension payments after missing out on £75,000 because she didn't know she was eligible.
Margaret Bradshaw worked outside the UK for nearly all her adult life so didn't qualify for a state pension when she returned to the country in 1990.
The British born resident was entitled to pension payments after her 80th birthday in 2001 - but had no idea she could claim, MirrorOnline reports.
READ MORE: Government urged to lower pension age to 60 to avoid job crisis
Margaret's 78-year-old daughter Helen Cunningham, investigated the issue for her mother and discovered she had been entitled to £82.45 a week since her 80th birthday.
The centenarian - who now has dementia and lives in a care home - started to receive her payments two weeks ago after seeking help from former pensions minister, Steve Webb.
The former nanny and hotel worker has also received backdated payments worth £4,000, but won’t get back the £75,000 she missed.
Retired Helen, who lives in Egham, Surrey, said: “I read this article about how thousands of people over 80 aren’t claiming the pension, and it made me question if my mother should have been getting it.
“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.”
Grandmother-of-nine Margaret, was born in Croydon in 1921, and worked several jobs including in hotels and as a nanny, and spent nearly 30 years living in Canada.
Married three times, her most recent husband died in the 1970s and she returned to the UK in 1990.
She wasn’t entitled to a state pension from the age of 60 as she had worked abroad and hadn’t made any national insurance contributions in the UK.
But she had no idea she was entitled after her 80th birthday - and never claimed.
Helen said: “I expected if something like that was available, we would have been notified, but it was never suggested.”
Margaret, who is now living in a home in Addlestone, Surrey, had been living off a small pension from her work in Canada.
Sir Steve Webb, the former pensions minister, advised Helen the over 80s pension does not require national insurance contributions.
To be eligible, people must get either a basic state pension of less than £82.45 a week, or none at all.
As of June 30, Margaret started finally receiving £82.45 per week.
Helen said: “I’m glad mother has it now, but it shouldn’t have taken her getting to 100 to find out about it.
Want to find out the latest news in your area? Enter your postcode on our In Your Area page here
