‘At the forefront of highlighting pensions injustice: This is Money’s Tanya Jefferies scoops Outstanding Achievement award

The campaigning journalism and in-depth investigations of This is Money’s Investment and Pensions editor Tanya Jefferies have been recognised with a special award.

Tanya won Headline Money’s Outstanding Achievement award for being ‘at the forefront of highlighting pensions injustice’.

Over recent years, Tanya has worked tirelessly alongside our retirement columnist Sir Steve Webb to get the myriad of problems in the state pensions system fixed – and in doing so made a huge difference to current and future pensioners’ retirement income.

This is Money’s Tanya Jefferies (middle) collects her trophy from David Meliveo, CCO, at People’s Partnership (right) and awards host Ayesha Hazarika MBE (left)

The most high-profile case involved uncovering the underpaid women’s state pension scandal – leading to a mention for Tanya, Steve and This is Money in the National Audit Office report and winning back an estimated £1.5billion for those affected.

She has also revealed – along with Steve – how older mothers were being shortchanged by a further £1billion, while younger mothers were missing out on state pension credits from child benefit.

Tanya helped secure a victory for up to ten million people on Universal Credit who didn’t get the NI credits they deserved, and exposed how the state pension top-up system was in disarray – which in the end the Government tacitly acknowledged, by twice having to extend a special deadline to buy them.

The judges said: ‘This highly respected Investment and Pensions Editor has persistently campaigned for those affected by flaws in the pensions system, driving awareness of issues such as state pension underpayments, DWP calculation errors, government failures to notify women about state pension age hikes, and the little-understood link between child benefit and the state pension.

‘Demonstrating the power of investigative journalism and the importance of listening to readers’ problems, alongside Sir Steve Webb, her work exposing state pension underpayments went on to trigger a National Audit Office investigation, resulting in a government report crediting her role in in bringing the scandal to light.’

This is Money’s Simon Lambert said: ‘Tanya’s award is richly deserved but I know that the real reward for her and Steve Webb, who she works closely alongside, is the money they have won back for countless pensioners and the real difference that will make to their quality of living. 

Tanya was presented with her award at the Headline Money event last week and praised for her ‘ongoing advocacy and tenacity for those seeking pensions justice’. 

This is Money’s Lee Boyce said: ‘Tanya doggedly goes about her work helping as many readers as she can every day. 

‘It involves plenty of legwork behind the scenes and back and forth with various government departments, which can often only be described as Kafkaesque.

‘But her tenacity, resolve and never-give-up attitude makes Tanya one of the finest personal finance journalists in the country in our view. The number of readers she has helped over the past decade is astonishing.

‘We are delighted this hard work has been recognised in the form of the top award dished out in what is described as the Oscars for personal finance journalists.

‘Bravo Tanya.’