Time limit on reclaiming Pension over payments ? help please

[wonderer]

I am asking this for a friend, Carol, who has had a shock following the death of her aged parent. She has found that there is a lot more savings in her parent's name than she expected. As the daughter had supported her parent because she thought she had a low pension and therefore contributed heavily to her parent's well being.

Carol has now had THE letter from the Reclaiming department in Gloucester [post Probate] and would like to know how things are apportioned. How far back can claims be made? Is there any leeway allowed for the 'help' Carol gave her Mother, or would mentioning it just make the case worse? It seems that all the support given to Carol's mother is to be clawed by the State which does not seem fair.

Any experience or help to understand this situation is badly needed as losing a beloved parent is bad enough without wrestling with bureaucracy! Thanks in anticipation.

This can also be a lesson to others in a similar situation.

[Amethyst]

Re: Time limit on reclaiming Pension over payments ? help please

Are the DWP citing the level of savings are the reason for the overpayment ? Is this pension credits?

Your friend will need to get hold of bank statements of her Mothers going back 6 years - best done by asking for a transaction list under a Subject Access Request to the banks - there's an example in the library.

[Kati]

Re: Time limit on reclaiming Pension over payments ? help please

https://www.gov.uk/benefit-overpayme...ave-to-be-made

Repayments when someone has died

DWP can recover overpayments from a person’s estate.

Contact the Debt Management contact centre if the person who died owed a repayment.

If the estate shows the person who died shouldn’t have got the income-related benefits they were on, contact Debt Management Recovery From Estates instead.

Debt Management Recovery From Estates
Telephone: 0345 850 0051
Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm
Saturday, 9am to 4pm

Unfortunately, I don't think there is a time limit on the DWP recovering overpayments (although they cannot start a court claim for it after 6yrs).

[wonderer]

Re: Time limit on reclaiming Pension over payments ? help please

So, if you support your parent and that enables the parent to save money this is then counted by DWP etc. as savings? How long does it have to be in a bank account [etc] to be counted as "savings".