Local gaovernment pension

IAINWATSON

Hi.
I wonder if you could give me some advise with my Local government pension.
I took early retirement and I was told what my local government annual pension would be which was fine. I've been taking it for now for 5 years and now my state pension has now started. I have now been told that the figure for my local pension was wrong and they want me to pay back £9000.00 over the next 5 years.
Can they do that? Do I really have to pay it back after all it was their fault not mine. £9000.00 is a lot of money to me and to pay it back would be quite hard especially over 5 years.

xylophone

I've been taking it for now for 5 years and now my state pension has now started.


I have now been told that the figure for my local pension was wrong and they want me to pay back £9000.00 over the next 5 years.

https://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/pension-problems/making-a-complaint/common-concerns/mistakes-and-overpayments

It is normally reasonable to allow you to repay an overpayment over the same period it was paid. For example, if you’ve been overpaid for two years, you should be allowed two years to repay.


Now that you are in receipt of state pension, on top of the LGPS pension, the repayment shouldn't be too onerous? (around £35 a week).

IAINWATSON

Thanks for that,
I was wondering if they would let me pay it back after 10 years as it was their mistake.
Regards.
Iain

xylophone

You've had the benefit of the cash over the last five years and they aren't asking for interest.

You were managing before on the LGPS pension and you now have (even if only the old basic SP) £125 a week over and above that.

Paying back £35 a week of that still leaves you better off than you were before.

Southend1

xylophone wrote: »

You've had the benefit of the cash over the last five years and they aren't asking for interest.

You were managing before on the LGPS pension and you now have (even if only the old basic SP) £125 a week over and above that.

Paying back £35 a week of that still leaves you better off than you were before.

Unless OP was relying on savings to bridge the gap to state pension age, which have now run out.

kidmugsy

IAINWATSON wrote: »

I have now been told that the figure for my local pension was wrong and they want me to pay back £9000.00 over the next 5 years.

I wonder whether in cases like this the scheme ought to agree to pay the cost of the pensioner hiring an actuary to check the figures. (Of course, if trade unions were any ruddy good they'd offer such a service to members anyway. Fat chance! "A bunch of twerps trying to secure safe Labour seats" is probably a fair description of many trade union officers.)

My wife was messed about by one of her DB pensions who took four goes (or was it five?) before settling on what they would pay her. And realistically we have little idea whether the final payout is right.

This is at least one advantage of DC pensions - they are far easier for the layman to check.

badmemory

kidmugsy wrote: »

I wonder whether in cases like this the scheme ought to agree to pay the cost of the pensioner hiring an actuary to check the figures.

Exactly this! Excellent idea. If they are so incompetent that they can't get the basics right how on earth do they cope when it gets difficult. Also if they get it wrong once how do you they haven't got it wrong again?

Silvertabby

badmemory wrote: »

Exactly this! Excellent idea. If they are so incompetent that they can't get the basics right how on earth do they cope when it gets difficult. Also if they get it wrong once how do you they haven't got it wrong again?

Mistakes like this are rare but, unfortunately, they do happen. LGPS administrators do their best but are under enormous pressure to get pensions paid (plus supply other data) as fast as possible.

FYI, it's likely that this error will have been picked up when OP reached State pension age and a more senior administrator carried out a further check when applying GMP to the record.