Condolences asked to refund pension overbear
Condolences have been asked to repay the state’s pension to those who were incorrectly sent to those who have died by the department for work and pension (DWP).
DWP has confirmed that it has no legal right to recover money, but argues that it does so to protect public money.
Former Pension Minister Sir Steve Web says that the letter sent by the department to the families does not clarify that the payment is voluntary.
In the last five years, DWP accidentally paid The deceased has more than £ 500m in state pension and pension creditAbout half of the bereaved relatives recover about half.
This situation can arise if there is a delay in reporting a death – or DWP has this processing – from which further pension payment can be released.
As a result, part of that payment can cover a period after the person dies.
In the latest year, a person was overpaded by DWP after the death of a person due to delayed reporting.
The department recovered £ 67.3M, leaving £ 76.7m in uncontrolled overpeps.
Sir Steve, who is a partner in the Pension Consultancy LCP, used the freedom of information request to see a copy of the letter sent to DWP to families and executives.
It turns out that when the department asks to return the money to protect public funds, it does not suggest that repayment is voluntary.
The former minister said that he was “surprised” to learn the letter, it does not make it clear that it is not mandatory to return the money.
Sir Steve argued that this converts pension to repay the repayment into a “lottery”, where some people send the money back while others do not.
Former Liberal Democrat politician, who served in the ministry between 2010 and 2015, warned that the system affects the weakest people who may be unhappy and unable to question the letter.
He called for a “consistent approach”, urging the government to either secure the legal basis for recovering the overweights or to secure the legal basis for “benefiting from those who do not know that this system How does it work “.
Radio 4 Money Box Listener Dennis said that both their parents were “caught” by the process after the death of both of them.
Dennis explained that he followed the instructions of the letter to settle his parents’ matters “.
He said that he “follows the government and would pay it” because he did not know that repayment was not legally necessary.
Another money box listener, Jan, told the BBC that her late husband would be “herself next to” if he knew that his pension was repaid with more than £ 250 when he did not need to be.
John said that when she receives a letter from DWP, she said that she had overped her husband, as she had informed “immediately” after her death.
“The way it happened and the way (the way) was disturbed,” he said.
The Department of Work and Pension said in a statement, “It is not our intention to create a crisis, however, we have the responsibility of recovering taxpayers to overweight. We admit that this is not always possible.
“While there is no legal obligation to repay this type of loan, we believe that some people will be ready to repay the money, which had no right. We provide full contact details and to call us to call us Encourages with concerns for. “
For more information about this story, listen to the money box on BBC Radio 4 at 12:00 GMT or hold on BBC sounds.
