DWP Recovery from Estate - Pension Credit overpayment

[labman]

Re: DWP Recovery from Estate - Pension Credit overpayment

PS. Congrats on the recent addition to the Wales family !!!:baby:

Dangerous comment Bill - have you not seen the other thread?

I believe gorilla hunting is still thriving in parts of Wales - be careful on your choice of holiday destination. :beagle:

[wales01man]

Re: DWP Recovery from Estate - Pension Credit overpayment

I moved out of wales cos the gorillas were hunted to extinction none anywhere to be seen ,congrats on me baby 30 years to late but thanks

[Bill-K]

Re: DWP Recovery from Estate - Pension Credit overpayment

LOL - I've not seen the baby-naming thread - but maybe I should check it out. The few gorillas left in the Welsh hillsides are all that now protects the Taffies from those wretched red dragons that swamp the souvenir shops.

[dyatel42]

Re: DWP Recovery from Estate - Pension Credit overpayment

I have been reading other threads in this forum concerning DWP and Recovery from Estates and I have garnered some useful information. I don't want to hijack anyone else's thread and muddy the waters so I am starting this thread. Apologies if this is going over old ground.

My mother passed away, aged 88, in February and was in receipt of Pension Credit. She had been receiving this benefit since 2003 and she was given help to make this assessment after a home visit - I think by Age Concern or the Local Authority as she was almost totally deaf and very nearly blind. At the the time she was assessed she had very little to declare as savings but over time her balance accrued - some was put into an ISA and the rest accumulated in her current account. At her death she had just over £20k in an ISA and about £7.5k in her current account plus an insurance policy which paid out on her death with a maturity value of £5.5k After probate was granted I, as executor of my mother's estate, received a letter from the DWP Recovery from Estates advising me not to distribute the estate as there may have been an overpayment of Pension Credit and to supply details of her final estate. I have done this and have now received a letter requesting details of all my mother's accounts ( Current Acccount, ISAs etc.) going back ten years to 2003. I am in the process of gathering this information.

I am confused by the information from the Pension Service that she did not have to inform the Pension Service of changes to her capital during the period of assessment (unless she needed to claim more). I contacted the Pension Service to find out if she had had a re-assessment and started a new period of assessment and was informed that she hadn't had an assessment since 2003.

If she did not have to declare any changes to her capital (which had only accrued since 2003) and if she had not had a re-assessment since 2003 does that mean she was in an indefinite "period of assessment" and is the DWP able to recover this money? If so how do I check that they have calculated this amount correctly?

My own case is so close to yours its hard to believe. I have now been asked (today) for account details for 2003 and the amounts involved are very similar. My aunt was 99 when she died so in 2003 she was already 89.

Have you made any progress with obtaining the info requested by the RFE? I am not looking forward to this one bit!

[Willin']

Re: DWP Recovery from Estate - Pension Credit overpayment

My own case is so close to yours its hard to believe. I have now been asked (today) for account details for 2003 and the amounts involved are very similar. My aunt was 99 when she died so in 2003 she was already 89. Have you made any progress with obtaining the info requested by the RFE? I am not looking forward to this one bit!

I have just sent off as much of my mother's financial dealings from 2003 as I could to meet the deadline they set. Not all details have yet been received and I will forward these on to DWP as I get them - I have 10 years' worth of bank statements which show a gradual accumulation of funds - offset by putting some into ISAs etc.- but I don't have some financial records as Mam's passbooks have been lost/discarded in the past. I have had to try to account for any expenditure over £1000 and also for regular payments out of her account - most of which I haven't a clue about as I was not privy to her financial affairs and she isn't around anymore to be asked. I expect to hear back from the DWP in a few weeks and depending on their assessment I may take further expert advice. I'll report back here anyway as I think a number of readers will have an interest in the outcome.

[Pearson49]

Re: DWP Recovery from Estate - Pension Credit overpayment

Hi,

I hope you don't mind me asking but my Mother died in April this year and the DWP are asking to see details of her bank etc because she might have been overpaid Pension Credits. Does anyone actually know how long this process takes? Will we see any money this side of Christmas? Her will was not complicated and I, wrongly, assumed it would be straight forward.

Thank you for your help:doggieyes:

[Willin']

Re: DWP Recovery from Estate - Pension Credit overpayment

Hi, I hope you don't mind me asking but my Mother died in April this year and the DWP are asking to see details of her bank etc because she might have been overpaid Pension Credits. Does anyone actually know how long this process takes? Will we see any money this side of Christmas? Her will was not complicated and I, wrongly, assumed it would be straight forward. Thank you for your help:doggieyes:

First of all sypmathies to you for your loss. Obviously I don't know the circumstances of your Mother's will and how long it will take you to gather together all the necessary financial details required by the DWP but if it is as simple as my mother's was then it is should be relatively straighforward. My mother died in February and I have received a final letter from the DWP RFE concluding their investigation - so just over seven months for me. You may therefore just make it if there are no complications.

[Willin']

Re: DWP Recovery from Estate - Pension Credit overpayment

Just a quick note to everyone on this thread who helped with advice and practical help -thanks especially to Bill even though his excellent spreadsheet was not required after all. I have received a letter today from the DWP to state that my mothers' assets were corrrectly taken into account and that their investigation is now concluded. I sincerely hope that this thread will be some help to those who find themselves in a similar position.

[enaid]

Re: DWP Recovery from Estate - Pension Credit overpayment

Thanks very much for the update Willin' and I am really pleased it's concluded and nothing more needs to be done with this.
Enaid x

[wales01man]

Re: DWP Recovery from Estate - Pension Credit overpayment

As I always say,if nothing wrong has been done there is nothing to worry about

[Gimcrack]

Re: DWP Recovery from Estate - Pension Credit overpayment

As I always say,if nothing wrong has been done there is nothing to worry about

Hi all, newbie here - I am curious to know if anyone has ever explored or otherwise challenged the manner in which PC was apparently foisted in haste on some "claimants" back in the day - my impression is that many old folk were "bounced" into it by incentivised DWP / SS staff and forms filled-out over the phone and just sent out for counter-signing without any guidance.

I would be interested in any views.

Thanks

[Kennelclub]

Re: DWP Recovery from Estate - Pension Credit overpayment

Dear Willin, New to this forum, so excuse mistakes. Similar case with my mother . DWP completely holding up will settlement! Got MP involved. Solicitor aghast at delay! What on earth!

[geedee0520]

Re: DWP Recovery from Estate - Pension Credit overpayment

Dear Willin, New to this forum, so excuse mistakes. Similar case with my mother . DWP completely holding up will settlement! Got MP involved. Solicitor aghast at delay! What on earth!

As I understand it the DWP advise executors not to settle the will as, should monies be owed to them, they will chase the executors & beneficiaries for the money. It's up to the executors to decide what to do. Your solicitor should be able to advise whether this is correct (it's what I was told by solicitors)

[\\.\]

Re: DWP Recovery from Estate - Pension Credit overpayment

Something that I can relate to Willin'

I shall bullet point matters...

• As a data collator the DWP has a duty to ensure that their data is accurate and factual in accordance with section 70(2) of the data protection act 1998 and also the fourth principle.
• The DWP are not at liberty to levy a claim without evidence and only a judge may make such judgments on fraudulent claims and misrepresentations.
• A person must satisfy the test under section 71 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 by way of a tribunal before any recovery can commence or it should be written off.
• section 2 of the Social Security (Overpayments) Act 1996 (an amendment to SSAA1992) states that the section 2 should determines if any amount is recoverable, it also states that "(b) specify the period during which that amount was paid to the person concerned." which means that they have to prove beyond a doubt that an over payment not only occurred for a certain time period but also that part or all of it is recoverable.

So to pint pot the issue, they have to establish at tribunal that they have a case, provide the evidence and argue that the amount is recoverable in part or all of it is repayable.

My ex partner received a demand for £11,979 to be repaid because the pension credits paid to her grandmother were deemed to have been an over payment and this was on the face of it because she had "Sizable assets" and they claimed that her home was an asset and that excluded her from being eligible along with the savings that she had at death, fact that she owned her home but had no money didn't seem to factor in to it as most of her "Savings" were accrued through things like the sale of her car, the scooter she had and other items she no longer needed when she went in to a care home.

What astounded me was the woman hadn't been buried yet but the DWP were pounding on my ex's door (so to speak) with these demands to cough up this money.

Despite our demands for proof, nothing is forthcoming other than further threats from the recovery department. What they provided as proof of over payment was laughable, a print out of an excel worksheet that they claim is proof of over payment, ummm nope, that's only proof that they paid her pension credits from x date to y date.

Only thing that I can say is that my ex, several other cases I know of from various forum groups on facebook have had people post asking for help because of these over payment issues, one lady is in the hole for £45k and because she allowed her ex husband to use her address as a point of contact. It seems that theirs no boundary to what the Tories will go and they are using the welfare system as a weapon to subjugate people and keep them in fear of losing their benefits.

[Kennelclub]

Re: DWP Recovery from Estate - Pension Credit overpayment

Similar experience to Beaglepuppy. Extended delay to disbursement of my mother's estate, caused by late intervention of DWP regarding PC "overpayment". Probate solicitors not inspiring confidence in representing our family's interests. All holding up sale of my mother's bungalow!!