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Deductions from State Pension for Benefit overpayment

AW71
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Slater & Gordon

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Hi, Can anyone tell me if they have ever come across a client who has had deductions made from their State Pension for overpayments of benefit.
I have a client, an O/P who is being assisted by his niece, she advises me that deductions from his State Pension are being made in connection to an overpayment of DLA. She explained that there has been no letter advising them of the overpayment, how it occurred, when it occurred etc.
I wasn’t aware that deductions could be made from State Pension - can anyone advise me differently please?

Thanks,

Elliot Kent
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Shelter

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There’s a list of benefits from which deductions can be taken on page 58 of the Benefit Overpayment Recovery Guide (struggling to link it here but you can google it). State pension is on the list.

(s71(11)(za) SSAA since you asked)

marc1974
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Welfare Rights Service, Lancashire County Council

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I’ve seen it now again. Almost always when the overpayment was because of fraud.

Mairi
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Welfare rights officer - Dunedin Canmore Housing Association

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I’ve certainly seen it - though not for a while.  And it’s usually been for 1/3 of the state pension amount.

Often it’s not that the claimant hasn’t been notified of the overpayment, but that the notification and last recovery were years ago because the claimant hasn’t been on benefits for a while prior to retiring.

Always worth checking that the overpayment was correct - I’m sure I came across one where the overpayment had been nilled following an appeal and because that wasn’t recorded properly at the time it came up for recovery incorrectly years later.

Oldestrocker
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Principal - Forensic Accountants, Canterbury

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I had reason to recently speak with Debt Management over this particular situation. They informed me that they have the right to deduct money from the State Pension irrespective of whether the debt was caused by fraud or just a simple mistake by the claimant.

Brian JB
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Advisor - Wirral Welfare Rights Unit, Birkenhead

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Oldestrocker - 27 February 2020 11:52 PM

I had reason to recently speak with Debt Management over this particular situation. They informed me that they have the right to deduct money from the State Pension irrespective of whether the debt was caused by fraud or just a simple mistake by the claimant.

That is correct - see regulation 15 of the Social Security (Payments on account, Overpayments & Recovery) Regulations 1998