Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis has issued a warning to people who are asked to pay state pension payments back on behalf of deceased relatives.
He said they may not legally have to pay it - and the Department for Work and Pensions has also clarified the position, stating "there is no legal obligation to repay a debt of this type".
The Government has been writing to the relatives of those who have passed away, asking them to return overpaid state pension payments – but this is not a legal requirement, the Money Saving Expert has said.
The issue was raised on Twitter after Radio 4 host Paul Lewis responded to a tweet from a man who had just lost his mother and complained that the DWP had asked the family to return £160, the Mirror reports.
When someone dies, their death must be reported within five days in England and Wales, or within eight days in Scotland via the DWP's 'Tell Us Once' service.
In Northern Ireland, deaths must be reported within five days via the Government's bereavement service.
This officially registers them as off the books – meaning any benefit payments will stop.
This process can take several months, during which time state pension payments may continue – money the DWP often comes looking for later down the line.
In a MoneySavingExpert post, Mr Lewis said if you receive a letter asking for repayment, you can ignore it.
He added there is "no legal obligation to repay this debt" and that it could not enforce "recovery of any unpaid debt".
The DWP also added that it would only send out a letter demanding payment once.
Mr Lewis wrote: "If you are not happy doing that then write back asking what statutory power the DWP is relying on to recover the money. It will then respond to say it has no power. You can then confidently ignore the payment demand. The DWP also cannot use common law to recover the debt."
A DWP spokesperson said: "There is no legal obligation to repay a debt of this type, but we recognise some people will be willing to repay money to which there was no entitlement. We provide full contact details and encourage anyone with concerns to call us."
However, any debt owed to the DWP due to overpayments while the person is still alive, or regarding any payments they wrongly claimed, does stand up – and will need to be repaid.
A DWP spokesperson said: "It is not our intention to cause distress, however, we have a responsibility to taxpayers to attempt to recover overpayments. We acknowledge this is not always possible.”
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