Old Style CBESA & Telling DWP About Occupational Pension

JKS$(

I’ve been cleaning old style CBESA (support group) for years & the amount I receive is reduced by my occupational pension (LGPS)

Each financial year my pension increases, & I have to provide DWP with a letter from my pension provider about this increase. After speaking to other claimants (some on CBESA, some on IRESA & some on UC) it seems nobody else has to do this - their pension figures are ‘given’ to DWP directly & their new calculations & deductions are done automatically. 

Any idea why I have to jump through this extra hoop? My pension provider says they don’t have to provide these letters for anyone else, & even though I’ve given them my permission to share my info with DWP, DWP have never contacted them. I’ve also given permission to DWP to share info with my pension provider. Twice.

I was self-employed for years before being employed & then taking ill health retirement, so I still have to complete self assessment tax return - could this be the reason?

NedS

I'm not sure that is correct.

DWP do receive the information from HMRC via the Real Time Information (RTI) system, but none of the benefit systems act upon this information, so it is your responsibility to notify DWP of the pension and any increases to the pension.

If claimants fail to notify of the increase there will be an overpayment which is recoverable, and they may receive a £50 civil penalty for failure to notify DWP at the time. Again, if they fail to notify DWP, this will eventually get flagged up automatically and investigated. If it goes on long enough or constitutes a significant overpayment, it may end up as a fraud case which could lead to prosecution.

It is your responsibility - you must notify DWP. Anything other that friends may have told you is incorrect.

4justice2

As NedS says above, it is your responsibility to notify DWP of any changes that may affect your benefit. If others aren't doing that they are in the wrong.
My occupational pension provides me a notification each year when an increase takes place, I'm surprised yours doesn't. 

JKS$(

4justice2 said:

As NedS says above, it is your responsibility to notify DWP of any changes that may affect your benefit. If others aren't doing that they are in the wrong.
My occupational pension provides me a notification each year when an increase takes place, I'm surprised yours doesn't. 

Thanks both for the replies. My pension provider has an online system so I can download my payslips & P60, but DWP won’t accept them - they require a letter on headed notepaper with the monthly amount, yearly amount & payment schedule. They won’t accept the same info as an email printout

I’ve been doing this for years while my friends haven’t, yet DWP don’t ask them for their pension details - seems baffling to me but I’ve wasted far too long wondering about what happens in DWPLand. I shall continue to do what I’ve been doing…

Is there a simple answer as to why DWP don’t use the RTI provided by HMRC? More bafflement as a friend on UC isn’t getting his correct entitlement - his previous employer is providing HMRC with incorrect figures which are being used by UC. He stopped working for them in November & hasn’t been working anywhere else, but they claim he’s still an employee. UC say they have to use what figure HMRC provide. 

Cyclamen

Hmm.. that does seem more work.

I wonder if they ask for different info if different pension companies involved

I get a small teachers pension (sadly wasnt well enough to work long enough to build it up) and each year dwp write asking for details and they accept my downloadded statement each time