A man in his 80s who carried on working well past retirement age is set to enjoy a £140,000 windfall this week.
The sprightly Yorkshireman, who asked not to be named, had assumed he wasn’t allowed to claim his statutory state pension as long as he carried on in work.
It was only years after he hit retirement age that the council made enquiries on his behalf, Leeds Live reports.
He said he preferred to remain anonymous and asked Wakefield Council to keep his identity a secret.
Local councillor Michael Graham said: “To help our residents get more money in their pocket we are using information we hold to identify if they are entitled to more benefits and allowances than they are getting; one particular resident, an elderly gentleman in his 80s, who was in credit with his council tax but wasn’t claiming the correct benefits.
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“The gentleman is still working and didn’t want to stop but didn’t realise he could claim his state retirement pension and continue to work.
“We contacted the pension service, who looked into it and told the gentleman that he was due a backdated lump sum of £140,000 as well as an extra £185 a week.”
Your State Pension age is worked out based on your gender and date of birth.
It is presently under review and is expected to increase to 68 between 2037 and 2039.
Latest projections from the Office for National Statistics show that the number of people over State Pension age in the UK is expected to grow by a third between 2017 and 2042, from 12.4 million in 2017 to 16.9 million in 2042.
You can check your State Pension online at any time for a forecast of how much you could get.
The service will also confirm when you will reach State Pension age, under the law as it stands.
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