Overpayment of PIP while in hospital and state pension after death

DragonRider83

Hi,

My mum passed away in early January, having been first in hospital and then a hospice since early December. During the total time that she was in hospital/hospice, she was paid her state pension and PIP as usual, and then in the period between her death and her account being closed, received another state pension payment. This was nobody's 'fault' as such because I used the Tell Us Once service as early as I could, the day after registering the death, and the pension payment was made the next day, so they wouldn't have had time to process it, so there was neither a delay in my reporting it nor a delay in them processing it.

I've read this article:
Ignore requests from the state trying to claw back pension overpayments after someone has died - they have no legal right to do so

I feel a bit bad, but I don't intend to pay that money back. I'm pretty angry about pensioners not getting a winter fuel allowance this year and also Mum was one of the 'WASPI' women who suffered tremendously financially because of the pension age being pushed back without enough warning, so she lost around £40,000 - so I don't feel morally obliged to pay back around £800.

However, what I wanted to ask was, while I know there is no legal obligation to pay back the pension overpayment, IS there a legal obligation to pay back the whole or part of the PIP payment she received whilst in hospital, if it turns out the payment should have been either reduced or not paid at all? I don't want to fall foul of the law - I will pay back anything I legally have to, but I don't know if it falls under the umbrella of things I legally have to pay back or not. Obviously the government don't make these things transparent, so does anyone here know?

Thanks in advance.

Brie

The crucial thing in my mind is whether her estate has the money to pay anything back.

You have the right to use any money that is available to pay for her funeral but if there's nothing left after that then you just need to tell anyone who asks that there's nothing available to pay them back.  You, personally, are under no obligation to pay them for money they paid your mom.  

Sorry for your loss.  It does sound like it wasn't completely unexpected but even so it's always a bit of a surprise when it does happen.  

DE_612183

You should have told DWP as soon as she went into hospital - I know this seems harsh but the payments are meant for those who struggle with day to day tasks etc - being in care removes the need for those additional payments.

I'm not sure of the legalities, or your moral stance - but not paying back is just an impact on the welfare state as a whole - I understand what MSE says, but when my mother and brother passed away I paid back the over-payments as I felt that was the right thing to do.

born_again

DE_612183 said:

You should have told DWP as soon as she went into hospital - I know this seems harsh but the payments are meant for those who struggle with day to day tasks etc - being in care removes the need for those additional payments.

I'm not sure of the legalities, or your moral stance - but not paying back is just an impact on the welfare state as a whole - I understand what MSE says, but when my mother and brother passed away I paid back the over-payments as I felt that was the right thing to do.

PIP is OK for 28 days while in hospital. So given there maybe no knowledge around the expected length of stay. It would be fair to wait till the 28 days in nearly up, & given the mention of Hospice, then other things tend to be on peoples mind.

So given OP time line of early Dec to the sad loss early Jan could well be within the 28days.

DragonRider83

DE_612183 said:

You should have told DWP as soon as she went into hospital - I know this seems harsh but the payments are meant for those who struggle with day to day tasks etc - being in care removes the need for those additional payments.

I'm not sure of the legalities, or your moral stance - but not paying back is just an impact on the welfare state as a whole - I understand what MSE says, but when my mother and brother passed away I paid back the over-payments as I felt that was the right thing to do.

I do think that is a little harsh as we had no idea, when she went into hospital, that she wouldn't be coming home again. A week after being admitted she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given a life expectancy of between three and six months, so we believed she would be able to come home for quite a while. But then on Boxing Day, tests revealed that it had actually already reached 'end stage' and she only lived another week after that. Bearing in mind how quickly this happened, the devastating emotional impact and that it was Christmas, I don't think anyone's first priority would be to inform the DWP.

I realise this is a moral grey area and different people will have different opinions, but I really just want to know what I HAVE to do from a legal perspective. I don't intend to repay the overpaid pension payment for the reasons I stated above, but I just want to know whether the PIP legally has to be repaid or not. If it is, I will repay it. If not I will think about it and make a decision.

DragonRider83

born_again said:

PIP is OK for 28 days while in hospital. So given there maybe no knowledge around the expected length of stay. It would be fair to wait till the 28 days in nearly up, & given the mention of Hospice, then other things tend to be on peoples mind.

So given OP time line of early Dec to the sad loss early Jan could well be within the 28days.

Thanks, that's helpful. The total length of stay in hospital/hospice was 34 days, if you count the day she went in and the day she died. So if there was an overpayment, chances are it's minimal anyway.