Tens of thousands of housewives are about to receive letters from the Government warning that they will not qualify for the new state pension because they have not worked for long enough.

The Department for Work and Pensions is sending more than 100,000 people within nine years of state pension age the letters, which will inform them that they will not receive a single penny under the new system.

Older women who took on traditional roles in the home, or took extended periods of time off work to raise children, are most likely to lose out as a result of the new rules.