Pensions paid after a person has passed away, should it be returned?

[teaandcake32]

My mum passed away in February and we received a letter today saying they had paid in my mum's pension after she had passed away and they would like it paid back.

I think we should pay it back but my sister who is dealing with the estate says that they can't demand it back and we should ignore the letter and they can't legally chase any further for the money.

Its about £200.

I think you need to pay it back. They probably have a claim on the estate for the debt

It's due back but would count as an unsecured debt when considering the priority order when paying off debts from the estate.

they will put a claim on the estate and interest charges. Pay it back! Do not ignore the letter.

Yes they can; it should be paid back

Of course you need to pay it back

It needs to be paid back. Could become more if you put fees on it. It's a debt so comes out of the estate. Sorry for your loss x

Had the same recently with my grandad. I paid it back and didn’t even question it. He’s died so it’s not his money and it certainly isn’t mine!

Yes, it's a debt of the estate and needs to be paid before the balance is distributed.

It doesn't belong to the estate. It should be paid back.

Yes I believe it needs to be paid back. I work for a bank and we regularly get letters from DWP asking for funds paid after the customers date of death to be paid back. We have to pay the funds back unless the account is already closed or it's a joint account, we don't need to seek permission from the executors either.

It depends if there is an estate. Dh’s dad died with no money to his name, lived in a council house and we had to pay for the funeral, we didn’t pay anything back as there was nothing to pay it back from unless we’d used our own money.

Needs to be paid back , it’s theft to keep it

We are dealing with exactly this at work, chasing pension payments made after people have died. In the majority of cases the pension provider wasn't notified of the death, and in some cases the payments were paid for years!

We have a couple of criminal cases of fraud where people spent the money and some civil cases where the money wasn't spent but not repaid. Its need repaying.

This is not part of your mother’s estate. This needs to be paid back. You will be legally pursued.

Op I'd pay it back, if you can afford to. They may or may not chase it but its probably less hassle just to return it.

Yes, you have to pay it back. I think my mum had something similar when my dad died.

Needs to be paid back - your sister is wrong.

Pensions are treated differently from other debt after a death. To keep pension that was paid after the death is fraud and a criminal offence. I remember hearing a discussion about this on a consumer programme a while ago. It was a legal hour phone in and this question was asked.

It needs to be paid back. The bank should have been advised that the account holder had died and the account should have been frozen ie no transactions in or out.

Provided the death was registered in time the DWP has no statutory power to claim back the overpaid pension (unlike its to power to claim back overpayments made during lifetime even after death).

Pay the money back if you feel a moral obligation to do so. Or write to the DWP asking them what power they rely on to claim it back. Or just do nothing. They know they have no power to claim it back which is why the letter is phrased the way it is.

i am not telling you to keep it. Just saying they have no legal power to reclaim it.

Yes thats a good point. I am dealing with an employees pension scheme where the death wasn't notified to the pension provider. Different to state pension.