Client has just been awarded early retirement occupational pension on ill health grounds, backdated to May. Will this mean he will have been overpaid Incapacity Benefit since then, or will the backdated payment of pension be treated as a lump sum and not affect it?

Assuming that Reg 24 of the Social Security (Incapacity Benefit) Regs applies, then where an occupational pension is paid other than weekly, it is treated as made in weekly payments, hence an overpayment has ben incurred. Weekly amount of pension = 7 x (amount paid divided by no. of days in the payment period).

Thank you. I've looked at that, but then at S22 which seems to indicate deductions have effect form the week the pension is paid - wonder if that means the actual payment rather than payable date?

Reg 22 of the Social Security (Incapacity Benefit) Regulations 1994 does state that '...deductions shall have effect...from the first day of the week...in which the pension payment is paid....'. So, i guess this means the arrears should be ignored as this money was not paid. The matter is not totally clear as Section 30DD of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 talks of periods where a pension payment is payable.

Although your exact problem is not dealt with in the DM Guide, it does give an example of someone already getting a pension where there is an increase in the payments which is backdated. The Guide goes on to say that these arrears of pension income are not taken into account (see para 56138).

It does seem at bit generous I admit...

from another angle - you can't disclose a change before it takes place, so even if there is an overpayment, should it be recoverable?

jj

Yeah there is that as well. But i do not know if it is possible for the legislation to effectively state that the normal overpayment rules do not apply in such a case. A bit like when arrears of IB are treated as being paid in the weeks they were for and HB/CTB is reassessed.

Reg 22 suggests the 'normal' o'payment rules would not apply, doesn't it? I've told him to let the DWP know without delay anyway.