Pension Credit Overpayment- Annuity Payment

Hi all,

Help please.

Would like some of your advice on below. I think sent before but must have got lost in the threads before.

I have a client who I am currently assisting with PC OP of approx just over £500. It goes back to 2006 but OP is small as his annuity every year is very small amount. He states he has has this annuity paid to him for ‘40 odd yrs’. He had a home visit from PC rep recently when they noted that his annuity was not down on their system. He gets very little PC savings credit and the OP is being recovered from his SP.

He states he always had this annuity and thought they always knew about it, although cannot recall whether he told PS about this annuity or not.  He has been on sickness benefit before going on PC.

I was not too sure whether he ought to challange this or not as he does not know himself what he wants to do. However, now reading some of the comments on soem of the other threads I think I should atleast pursue and assist him with an appeal just to see what case DWP/PS have against him in the papers. Plus his inital PC OP letter referred to ‘an increase’ in his annuity. There has not been any increase in his annuity so this has made me think I should atleast look into this further.

Also some of his previous letters from the pension service refer to ‘assessed income period’ where he does not have to report changes re: ‘retirment provisions’. I understand annuity income is a retirment provison. However, the letters he has from PS are not complete and pages are missing so I am unable to figure out what date they are from and when he was awarded this assessed income period or for how long etc. I don’t have much knowldge about assessed income periods;
My knowldge of benefits i not too great so any views on this please.

How old is he?  Getting an annuity 40 years ago sounds a bit odd.

He is 70 yr old. This is what he has told me but I think he is a bit confused. I think he means he started paying into a private pension ‘40 odd yrs ago’  but then could not keep up with the payments each month. This has resulted in an annuity being paid to him but from when I don’t think he knows himself (although I believe it is atleast going back some years, poss when he started getting his PC) unless I ring his annuity company and find out.

I think you need to get hold of some more details. It’s been quite awhile since providers were allowed to automatically put people into their annuity schemes, without them having some freedom of choice.

I will check with his annuity company when he started getting his annuity but I am working on the assumption what if he has been getting this annuity all this time he has been getting PC too and PC have not taken into account.