Woman gets £18,000 cheque after Martin Lewis shares ‘big money’ claim tip

A woman has been left 'amazed' after receiving an £18,000 cheque from the taxman, which was a result of taking the advice of Martin Lewis.

Amid a growing cost of living crisis which is leaving more and more people struggling to make ends meet, Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis has been doing his best to raise awareness of ways people can get their hands on some extra cash.

Previously, Lewis has given advice to couples on how they can best look after their finances, people who worked at home during lockdown, and most recently, he's spoken out about another 'big money' trick.

On this week's episode of The Martin Lewis Money Show, which was live on ITV on Tuesday, 25 October, Lewis addressed those with pensions with a tax trick up his sleeve.

The Money Saving Expert claims there are 'hundreds of thousands of, generally women' who are currently owed 'at least £6,000 pension back' - specifically 'women who hit state pension age before April 6, 2016', who are 'married' or 'widowed'.

"So that's people aged approximately 70 or older. And your basic state pension needed to be 60 percent of your husband's basic state pension and this is only for married couples. [...] If your husband was 65 on or after 17 March, 2008, or you're a widow whose husband died after April 2008 and you're getting less than 60 percent of his pension," Lewis explained.

Denise Maxwell/ Alamy Stock Photo

While Lewis noted those who fit the bill will get 'an automatic top up' which should be 'backdated,' you still need to make the claim.

"There are free tools online and you can call the pension service to do it. If you divorced after getting your state pension, and your pension is less than your ex-husband's, again you may be eligible.

"And there's a whole new category since I first did it. This can be a man as well, if you stay at home and look after the kids or you were a carer and you got the benefit for it, since April 1978 then if you don't get a full state pension then you may be entitled to a top up on that," Lewis added.

@itvMLshow/ Twitter

The 'big money' trick has already proven to be a success - and a viewer named Joan wrote into the show to reveal just how much she managed to get back from the taxman at HMRC.

The email - read by co-host Angelica Bell - states: "After watching your show on married women's state pension, I contacted the tax department and, although it did take about 7 months, I received a cheque for £18,000. I was amazed as I never expected this amount!"

Urging those with pensions to make a claim if they can, Lewis reflected: "As you've seen with Joan, this is really big money."

Tyla has contacted HMRC for comment.

If you've been affected by any of the issues in this story, you can find more information about where to get help from Turn2Us via their website.