Pension Credit Overpayments

Advice needed please,

I currently have a client that is in receipt of pension credit (guarantee and savings). Client applied for Industrial injuries Benefit in June 2006. They have been fighting the decision to allow IIB since. Client was finally awarded IIB on 24.07.07 with a back dated amount of £1564.00

Pension credit picked up in Aug 2007 that they are now in receipt of IIB and have reduced the pension credit accordingly, with a small overpayment that the client is happy with.

They have also issued an overpayment of £625.92 for May 06 - July 07 of which they are automatically deducting £9.00 from the pension credit to clear the overpayment. This is a figure we cant understand as it appears random.

Is there is anything we can appeal, or has anyone had this situation before? We cant understand why they are stating an overpayment when IIB wasnt in payment till July 07. Pension credit have it on their system that the client has been on IIB from June 2006, but nothing about the backdated payment.

Our arguement is that it is unfair to charge them with an random figure of overpayment when IIB was only awarded in July 07.

But the IIDB has been backdated to the date of application, surely, which is what normally happens when an award of benefit is made long after the original application as it was here. IIDB is I believe capable of being backdated further in appropriate cases.The amount of the payment would be roughly consistent with an assessment of 20% disability for that period (currently £26.34 a week, slightly less before April).

You seem to be in the unfortunate position of Section 74 of the Social Security Administration Act which applies especially to overpayments generated by the late backdated payment of other forms of income, especially other benefits. The effect is that you have had more (in this case) Pension Credit over the period for which arrears have been paid than you would have had if they had been paid at the right time. There has been an overpayment and under s 74 the SoS has an absolute right to recover it, even though the calaimant is blameless.

However it is not at all clear how the overpayemnt has been calculated. You should ask for a written statemnt of reasons and detaield calculation, and meanwhile lodge an apepal (this would be agaisnt the amount/calculation of the overpayment only if it is a s74 case). However it should mean that recovery would stop until the appeal is determined.

In regards to the overpayment amount, it seems that the guaranteed credit will be decrease by the IIB (£1564 backdated), but the savings credit will be increased by approximately £15 per week. This will leave a total decrease on the clients PC of about £10 per week. This amount multiplied by the number of backdated weeks will be around the £625 figure that they are claiming for the overpayment, so this amount seems correct.