The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has mistakenly paid hundreds of millions of pounds in benefits to people who have died. MPs are calling for reform and stricter policies to prevent further waste.
The Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ) has mistakenly paid £500 million in benefits to deceased individuals. The DWP has struggled to recover millions from overpaid state pensions and Pension Credit given to people who have passed away. Records from the fiscal year 2019-20 show approximately £512 million was wrongly paid, with £159 million of that sum going unclaimed last year alone.
These figures were revealed after a Parliamentary Question by Reform MP Rupert Lowe, who disclosed that over the past five years, £512m in pensions were paid to deceased individuals, but only £255m has been recovered. Mr Lowe criticized the current protocols, stating that there is no legal obligation for beneficiaries' families to return the misallocated funds and demanded comprehensive reform. He condemned the situation, saying, 'This is a shocking waste that underlines the contempt with which the Government treats taxpayers' money. Why is it tolerated?' Mr Lowe also advocates for stricter policies, questioning, 'Why is the return of this money not enforceable?' He expressed concerns about potential exploitation, saying, 'This is wide open to fraud and abuse. It needs to be clamped down on as part of a wider Government effort to cut down on misspending.' He stressed the importance of transparency: 'We must keep pushing for transparent data to uncover the true extent of the waste'. Great Yarmouth's MP, Andrew Western, also called for change, prompting the DWP's parliamentary under-secretary to acknowledge the issue. He explained that Direct Payments made into an account after a customer's death represent only around 0.1% of the total annual expenditure on pensions. He added that although these are treated as non-recoverable and not enforceable by law, the DWP can request the money back as a voluntary payment
DWP Benefits Dead People Taxpayers Reform
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