Bereavement and State Pension Repayment

Gig1968

Thankyou NedS  for your comments. I  agree with you I'm dealing with mom's business as my dad isn't capable. There will be no easy win. As for the comments from Mcneff unbelievable, heartless and painful to read. Mom and dad never had a car in their lives mate. Different era spent their lives struggling with money. Of course she had handbags and a wedding ring and an engagement ring but if you think those remaining keepsakes of my mom whom I watched pass away in intensive care are going to be sold. Well I'm sorry i just hope our situation never presents itself to anyone else. Simply dreadful. Dad now gets £175 a week to live. Eighty pounds less than four weeks ago. So as far as I am concerned, best of luck to the DWP. Bills don't just suddenly just stop when someone dies.

comeandgo

Gig1968 said:

Thankyou NedS  for your comments. I  agree with you I'm dealing with mom's business as my dad isn't capable. There will be no easy win. As for the comments from Mcneff unbelievable, heartless and painful to read. Mom and dad never had a car in their lives mate. Different era spent their lives struggling with money. Of course she had handbags and a wedding ring and an engagement ring but if you think those remaining keepsakes of my mom whom I watched pass away in intensive care are going to be sold. Well I'm sorry i just hope our situation never presents itself to anyone else. Simply dreadful. Dad now gets £175 a week to live. Eighty pounds less than four weeks ago. So as far as I am concerned, best of luck to the DWP. Bills don't just suddenly just stop when someone dies.

Condolences to you.  My mum died last week and we still don’t have the death certificate so cannot inform DWP regarding pension but after dads death a few years ago know that a repayment will be required.  Regarding your dads income, my mum had that amount a week and got pension credit and paid reduced council tax and reduced rent.  Check your dad is getting all the benefits he is entitled to.

calcotti

Gig1968 said: Dad now gets £175 a week to live. Eighty pounds less than four weeks ago. 

comeandgo said: Regarding your dads income, my mum had that amount a week and got pension credit and paid reduced council tax and reduced rent.  Check your dad is getting all the benefits he is entitled to.

£175/week is what Pension Credit will top the pension income up to if the actual pension is less than that (which is £90 less that the couple rate).
However, as comeandgo  says, if renting, Housing benefit would be payable as will Council Tax Reduction (assuming no substantial capital assets).

Gig1968

Condolences to you too. I waited 12 days for death certificate and mom passed away in hospital.  I used the tell us once system about moms death. They were told three days after she died. You can do it with a code that is given to you from the death registry office it informs all government departments in one swift go.

Gig1968

Thankyou Gholmesadmin for your kind words. I have just read an article from Paul Lewis from THIS IS MONEY from 2019. The government have no legal right to reclaim the money. In an interview with the DWP they confirmed that they send the initial letter out but then never follow it up. t is just an obligation they have to try and recover it on behalf of taxpayers. This was covered in an episode of Moneybox on BBC. DWP admits to Moneybox it has no legal right to recover it but fails it mention it in the repayment letters it sends out. Done and dusted . Not paying. What the DWP, Paul Lewis and Moneybox is good enough for me.

calcotti

That makes no sense to me. It means that someone who is slow in reporting a death benefits from money paid into the deceased person’s account for a longer period which just seems morally wrong. Are you able to post links to the article you read?

changing_ways

calcotti said:

That makes no sense to me. It means that someone who is slow in reporting a death benefits from money paid into the deceased person’s account for a longer period which just seems morally wrong. Are you able to post links to the article you read?

http://paullewismoney.blogspot.com/2019/03/dwp-cannot-enforce-demands-to-repay.html . 

calcotti

changing_ways said:

calcotti said:

That makes no sense to me. It means that someone who is slow in reporting a death benefits from money paid into the deceased person’s account for a longer period which just seems morally wrong. Are you able to post links to the article you read?

http://paullewismoney.blogspot.com/2019/03/dwp-cannot-enforce-demands-to-repay.html .

Very interesting (although I find it curious that payments made after death are treated as official error). Thanks for posting the link. 

Mrs_Ryan

So sorry for your loss. X

When my dad died, we had this letter too. I called the DWP on behalf of my mum, and told them he died intestate. (He did- all he had was a few pounds, some books and clothes. Mum paid for his funeral with her own money) They just said thanks for letting us know, sorry for your loss, we’ll close the file. Never heard another peep out of them. 

Gig1968

Thanks for posting the link to the article, changing ways. Thanks Mrs Ryan for your reply too. Very nice to hear a story similar to mine where some people really dont have anything.     Did you call them as soon as you received the letter.