Pension Overpayment

[Lobsang29]

My mother died just over a year ago and left me a small amount of money.
Now one year later I have received a letter from DWP informing me that she was overpaid the sum of £195 on the day she died which went into her account just before the account was frozen. This is classed as an overpayment and they are asking me to pay it back.
Am I obliged to pay it?

[Rockrose]

Yes

[woofgang]

Yes you are. Its one of the reasons why deaths are registered and every estate has to go through some form of checking to ensure that all taxes have been paid and that benefits have been properly paid and calculated. Strictly speaking its the estate of the deceased that must repay the money. Where there was a will, the executor is personally responsible, otherwise its the holder of the letter of administration.

[Canary42]

Unfortunately yes, I got caught too. There's no compassion at DWP.

[Jackdaw33]

As the state pension is paid in arrears how can you be overpaid if the payment was made on the date of death?

[woofgang]

Jackdaw, we have answered on the principle. It may be that the OP’s mother was in hospital, in which case pension is suspended after IIRC 6 weeks

[Mamyalynne]

The State Pension is a weekly benefit, paid in multiples of a week. For people who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2010, it can be paid weekly in advance or four weekly in arrears. ... Payment is weekly, fortnightly or four-weekly in arrears.24 Oct 2017
State Pension payment arrangements - Parliament.uk
researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN00260/SN00260.pdf

[woofgang]

I got it partly right. Nowadays, pension doesn’t stop but other benefits may. https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/health-wellbeing/health-services/your-hospital-stay/

[Hopkirk]

I vaguely remember something like this on Radio 4s Moneybox.

The answer then was that they can ask, but can't enforce. They were basically saying ignore it and they will drop it.

[Buenchico]

A pedantic point maybe, but it's actually your mother's estate which has to pay the money back. If, say, your mother left you a few hundred pounds as a specific bequest, with her will stating that the rest of her estate was to be left to the RSPCA, then it would be the RSPCA (as the residuary beneficiary) who would have to pay the money back.

Likewise, if (after paying off her debts), your mother's estate only amounted to £50, then you're only required to pay that £50 back and not £195. (An estate can't 'go negative', forcing relatives to pay off debts of deceased people from their own pockets).

However, unless either of those two circumstances apply (or something very similar), then I agree that you're required to pay the £195 back.

[woofgang]

Hopkirk, I am thinking that the moneybox answer is either not correct now or you are misremembering. They actually can enforce but may decide not to chase a small amount of money as its not worth their while

[-SharonA-]

Yes, it's happened to me or rather my brother who was handling dad's affairs.
My dad was ill in hospital and he even had someone visit from DWP.

[Rockrose]

Yes it’s happened to my father when my mother died money went in the day after she died he had to repay

[Lobsang29]

Thanks so much to everyone that took the time to answer.....guess I’ll get the cheque book out then!

[THECORBYLOON]

Which benefit was your mother receiving? With some benefits, any overpayment can be recovered even if it is an Official Error by DWP.

[THECORBYLOON]

Soz, forgot you said it was Pension. Payments made after death are recoverable under Common Law.

If the Personal Representative has advertised the death, asked for creditors,
dealt with all known expenses, debts, and creditors, waited two months from the date of the advert before distributing the estate(6 months in Scotland)the estate will have been correctly administered and any claims made outwith that time are too late.

If the above hasn't been done, there is no time limit and it can be recovered.

[Hopkirk]

STOP!

Don't pay.

I was right.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/article-6830067/Bereaved-people-NOT-return-state-pension-wrongly-paid-deceased.html

[Hopkirk]

http://paullewismoney.blogspot.com/2019/03/dwp-cannot-enforce-demands-to-repay.html

[Canary42]

But they don't tell you that when they ask for payment.

[-SharonA-]

It's too late for me!

[Buenchico]

Hopkirk's link only confirms that the debt doesn't pass to relatives. per se. It belongs to the estate of the deceased person.

DWP has no way of knowing (unless they seek out a copy of the will after it's gone to probate) whether the deceased person left their money to their relatives, to the RSPCA, to the Flat Earth Society, or to anyone else. So they have no right to assume that any relative of the deceased is in possession of the money which was overpaid.

As I wrote before, the estate of the deceased person is liable to repay the debt but that's most definitely not the same as saying that the relatives are.