NHS pension over payment

needhelppleasexx

Whilst I found this old thread on an issue very close to my fathers I could do with some up to date advise please (the thread has also been closed).

My mum was in receipt of NHS pension and she sadly passed away on the 23rd December. My father informed them as soon as possible after the xmas bank holidays and he received a letter stating his entitlements from this pension.

He received a letter yesterday from NHS pension to say they had overpaid him for the last 3 months and they will be recovering £800 from his bank account to rectify this. My sister and I were appalled and advised him to not only offer a repayment plan to them, but also contact his bank.

The assistant manager at his bank has said that they have the authority to reclaim as it was an over payment despite my father not giving permission for them to basically raid his account whenever they want to.

Any advise for us as he wants to pay it back if they have overpaid him, but if they take it in one go it will leave him in financial hardship.

Is the bank correct that they can just claim it back? If this was the case, then why don't HMRC do the same for tax credit over payments etc?

xylophone

The Pension Administrators have the right to request the repayment of an over payment but I very much doubt that they have the right to "raid a bank account".

Has your father received a letter of explanation showing the calculation of the repayment?

The overpayment appears to have arisen following an error by the Administrators so they should be amenable to an offer of a repayment plan?

Why can the repayment not be effected by reducing his pension by £66.66 a month for the next year?

needhelppleasexx

thank you for your response

the letter my Dad first received confirmed the death notification but also included a sheet giving details of the pension which included a paragraph stating that in the 3 months following the death, the amount paid would be the full amount

we have sent a letter questioning the repayment, quoting this term and also stating that if they have legitimately overpaid then a payment plan needs to be put in place as the immediate repayment would result in financial hardship; we are awaiting their reply

rachaelhanley

My Mum has just received a similar letter after also being told that she would receive my dad's full pension for the first 3 months. They have said that they want £1200 back in overpayments and £4000 in tax and that they are going to take it directly from her account. She hasn't had probate yet, so hasn't the money and also was previously told that Dad had no tax to pay. Is this really possible?

xylophone

I have just found this

http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/Documents/Pensions/Survivors_Guide_(V2)_08_2014.pdf

See page 11


"Members already in receipt of an NHS pension

If the member was in receipt of their NHS Pension you should contact our paying agents, Equiniti
Paymaster (EP). It is important to stop pension payments as soon as possible to prevent an overpayment.

The pension is paid up to and including the date of death. No one is entitled to receive the pension
payments made after their death, and any overpayment must be repaid. EP can provide pension payment and tax deduction details if required to help you administer the Estate.

If the pension is overpaid directly to a bank or building society account EP will ask the bank or
building society to refund the appropriate amount.

They will also advise the next of kin or personal
representative of their action, or notify them if there is any residue of pension or other
payment due.

If the pension is paid into a joint account it is important that the other account holder is aware of
this condition.

Pension benefits for the widow, widower, civil partner or nominated partner

A surviving spouse or civil/nominated partner who is eligible for a dependant pension must apply for it. EP will send an application form to complete so that the pension can start as soon as possible."

The previous poster gave additional information in her post 3 above that her father had received a letter stating that the deceased's pension would be paid in full for three months.

It seems therefore that the administrator did not make an error but was pursuing an established policy?

Your mother has received a similar letter. Did the letter also state that this was an interim measure while the application for spouse benefits was processed and that a repayment would be necessary once the spouse benefit had been computed?

On what has the payment of tax arisen?

molerat

From P7 of the link

Short term pension payable at rate of member’s pension paid for first three months or six months if there is at least one dependant child

which is the norm for most public sector pensions. Something has gone wrong somewhere

Thrugelmir

needhelppleasexx wrote: »

the letter my Dad first received confirmed the death notification but also included a sheet giving details of the pension which included a paragraph stating that in the 3 months following the death, the amount paid would be the full amount

My well be that benefits will continue to be paid in full for that period. In order for any dependents benefits to be determined. Simply stopping the benefit instantly may well cause hardship. Obviously any overpayment should be repaid once the new level is determined. .

rachaelhanley

Xylophone, thank you for the information. Yes, mum has done all the necessary paperwork and had previously received a letter and breakdown from Equiniti, so we thought everything was ok. This was all done in October last year. The letter doesn't explain where the tax charges have come from, as far as we were aware my Dad didn't owe any tax, mum had received a letter from HMRC to say that dad no longer had fill in a tax form.

xylophone

Your mother needs to write to Equiniti and ask for an explanation showing the calculation of sums due.