Recovery of overpaid state pension after death

Pollycat

Hi
My Mum died recently (18th September) and I used the 'Tell us once' service on 24th September.
I'm sure there will have been an overpayment of Mum's state pension.
Can anyone tell me how long it might take for DWP to request the money back please.

The bank notified me on 1st October that they had "stopped all of the sole accounts. No more entries will be able to go through the accounts except for dividends and interest."
It is a very small estate with savings in one single account and the bank have confirmed that we do not need to apply for probate.
The executor is ready to distribute the estate as per the will but wants to be sure everything is complete first.

Thanks in advance
(wasn't sure whether to post this here or on the death, wills & probate board).

calcotti

There isn't a definite answer. It can take a while at the best of times and everything takes longer at the moment. You could contact the Pension service to ask them.

p00hsticks

Pollycat said:

I'm sure there will have been an overpayment of Mum's state pension.

What makes you think that ? State Pension is usually paid four weekly in arrears, so even if a payment arrived in her account in the window between her after her death but before the account was frozen the majority of the payment will be for the period she was still alive and entitled to it.

Was she claiming Pension Credit ?

That can be more tricky, as a death (or more often, probate) seems to often cause DWP to go back and review the whole period of entitlement, especially if the estate looks large (due to the value of a residential property is included).

comeandgo

My mother died in January and as she was paid her pension weekly, she received a payment in error and it was May before the letter came requesting it back.  She had pension credit and we were advised on the letter requesting overpaid pension that further enquiries would be made by DWP and we are still waiting .

Pollycat

p00hsticks said:

Pollycat said:

I'm sure there will have been an overpayment of Mum's state pension.

What makes you think that ? State Pension is usually paid four weekly in arrears, so even if a payment arrived in her account in the window between her after her death but before the account was frozen the majority of the payment will be for the period she was still alive and entitled to it.

Was she claiming Pension Credit ?

That can be more tricky, as a death (or more often, probate) seems to often cause DWP to go back and review the whole period of entitlement, especially if the estate looks large (due to the value of a residential property is included).

Thanks.
Mum's pension was paid weekly.
She was only receiving a tiny amount - less than £3.00 per week - of Pension Savings Credit.

calcotti

p00hsticks said:

Pollycat said:

I'm sure there will have been an overpayment of Mum's state pension.

What makes you think that ? State Pension is usually paid four weekly in arrears, so even if a payment arrived in her account in the window between her after her death but before the account was frozen the majority of the payment will be for the period she was still alive and entitled to it. 

But that would still leave a portion of the payment relating to a period after death which would therefore be an overpayment.

powerwillyno18

heres 2 pages below that will help you

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6236302/bereavement-and-state-pension-repayment https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5932333/deceased-unsecured-debt/p1

TELLIT01

We received such letters after the death of both of my parents.  The sums involved were trivial but were returned.  I was later informed that these debts are not pursued with any great vigour, and they don't send out multiple letters demanding payment.  I have no idea if that is/was true, or what the current situation is.

Pollycat

Thanks for the replies.
powerwilly - the first link is particularly interesting, especially the link to Paul Lewis's Moneybox.
But a later post by Gorf123 contradicts what Paul Lewis says about DWP having no powers to recover the overpayment.

However, the DWP has the right not only to take any recent benefit overpayment back (which is not unreasonable), but also to investigate whether the deceased has received payments they were not entitled in the past.

I used the 'Tell us once' service as soon as I got the unique code from the Registrar.

We've not had the bill for the funeral yet but we understand that we can upload it and the bank will pay it out of Mum's account.
At that point, it would be nice for my sibling (executor) to be able to distribute as per the will without waiting months for DWP to get their bum in gear. 

We have no issue with paying the money back.

TELLIT01

The executor shouldn't have to wait for DWP before distributing the majority of the estate.  If they check the amount of pension received and hold that amount back they can distribute the rest.

Pollycat

TELLIT01 said:

The executor shouldn't have to wait for DWP before distributing the majority of the estate.  If they check the amount of pension received and hold that amount back they can distribute the rest.

OK.
Thanks.
I'll pass that on.
There are only 5 beneficiaries with the cash being split by percentage so pretty easy.