inherited additional serps pension

bazwid

I have received a revised state pension breakdown to advise of the new weekly figure. the letter from DWP states an amount of £79.60 is the total additional state pension inherited from my wife but when looking at the extra amount to my previous advice it is only an extra £17.90.
Talking with the DWP they say that there is a maximum amount that an individual can have for additional state pension and that is why their figures are correct. As I was contracted out for many years, my nett serps figure plus my wife's full inherited sum(70%) does not come to anything close to the maximum amount allowable. Should the DWP be using the nett or the gross figure to decide whether it reaches the maximum allowable and therefore am I entitled to a higher weekly pension than they have advised.

Can anybody help me to determine the correct interpretation of the maximum rule.

greenglide

Additional Pension for SERPS is in two part, the gross AP less any Contracted Out Deduction (COD) giving you a payable AP. The COD may well be greater than the AP meaning you actually get paid nothing.

So they may be using the value of the AP before the COD is deducted.

This should show on the annual uprating notification though.

I wasnt aware that they applied the maximum AP cap to inheritable AP.

xylophone

Inherited SERPS
Standard Note: SN 706
Last updated: 23 August 2012
Author: Djuna Thurley
Business and Transport Section


"There is a maximum amount of SERPS pension a person can receive, including their own SERPS pension and any inherited from a husband wife of civil partner. In 2012/13, this is £161.94 a week.

The intention is to ensure that someone who inherits SERPS does receive more in total than an individual could have built up in their own right.

DWP explains:7.1 Where a pensioner is entitled to combine his or her own Additional State Pension with that inherited from their late spouse or civil partner the total amount payable is capped.

The cap is equivalent to the amount of Additional State Pension which a person reaching State Pension age in the year in which entitlement to the inherited Additional State Pension arises would have accrued if they had earnings at 53 times the Upper Earnings Limit throughout their working life.

7.2 This rule has been applied to Additional State Pension since 1979 when the first Additional State Pensions became payable. It was put in place to ensure security following bereavement, but without exceeding the pension a person could realistically build up on their own contribution record."

http://www.rights4seniors.net/content/inheriting-asp

"Please note that there is a maximum amount of Additional State Pension you can receive. Therefore, if you have some of your own Additional State Pension and inherit some of your partner's, you cannot be paid more than the weekly maximum amount (currently £167.81/week 2013-14)."

bazwid

Previous notification of my own pension from April 2016 gave a pre 1997 nett ap of £27.42, being £105.56 less COD of £78.14, with post 1997 ap being £40.90, a final total of £68.32. The revised pension to include inherited ap now show my own nett ap for pre 1997 was £45.32, being £123.46 less COD of £78.14.The ap for 1997-2002 was £15.08 and ap for post 2002 was £25.82, making a total nett ap of £86.22(£17.90 more than before). My wife's total ap amount specified by DWP is £79.60, so if this was added to my previous own total nett ap would be £147.92, which is less than the maximum additional pension from April 2016 of £165.60 quoted by DWP.
Do I have a strong case for appeal or am I wrongly interpreting the regulation.

bazwid

Am I being done out of nearly £60 per week?

xylophone

http://www.financebanter.co.uk/uk-finance/8991-pension-calculation-mistake.html

may be worth a look.

bazwid

Thanks for that, I did look at the link and it seems ridiculous that the lady is £14 worse off than before when she had not inherited any of her husbands additional pension. Surely the DWP will not implement their revised new pension amount which penalises her and I would strongly advise her to appeal against their decision and calculation.

bazwid

I am having a lot of difficulty in trying to talk with the DWP calculation department as I can only talk to the 'help desk' who say that they cannot transfer my call and will get the other department to call me, but they never do. Is there any way of talking directly with the the department that does the calculation of my pension or is there a state pensions ombudsman I could refer to to progress my dispute with the DWP.
Can anybody help or give informed advice on the actual interpretation of the maximum ASP rule i.e. is it the gross or the nett ASP after COD deduction figure that should be applied

atush

When were you promised the call? How long ago?

xylophone

I am having a lot of difficulty in trying to talk with the DWP calculation department as I can only talk to the 'help desk' who say that they cannot transfer my call and will get the other department to call me, but they never do. Is there any way of talking directly with the the department that does the calculation of my pension or is there a state pensions ombudsman I could refer to to progress my dispute with the DWP.
Can anybody help or give informed advice on the actual interpretation of the maximum ASP rule i.e. is it the gross or the nett ASP after COD deduction figure that should be applied

You saw this calculation in the link http://www.financebanter.co.uk/uk-finance/8991-pension-calculation-mistake.html which would have been for the year 2006-07

"Basic pension: £84.25

Your own pre-1997 additional pension: £111.44
Inherited pre-1997 additional pension: £72.77 (50% of my deceased
father's entitlement)
Total additional pension: £184.21 (subject to contracted out
deductions)

Maximum additional pension payable by law: £146.12

Your own contracted out deductions: 88.36
Inherited contracted out deductions: 48.78
Total contracted out deductions: 137.14

Total additional pension payable: £146.12 - £137.14 = £8.98

Graduated retirement benefit (1961-1975): £5.98


Total state pension = £84.25 + £8.98 + £5.98 = £99.21"

Put in your own figures for 2016-17 using the example above - what do you get?

If you are still not content, write to the DWP and ask for their calculation of your ASP.

Or you could try http://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/about-pensions/the-state-pension/how-is-it-paid
__________________________________________

bazwid

Made call on 13/5/16 and had nothing since, I have now written to DWP to try to get a reply but obviously not as good as a two way conversation.