Thousands of individuals have been encouraged to review their pension payments following a blunder by the Department for Work and Pension (DWP) that left an ex-British Army soldier £3,000 per annum poorer. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) issued the warning after the DWP neglected to inform 82-year-old Adrian Furnival about crucial alterations to his state pension.
It’s believed that thousands of other retirees may have been similarly disadvantaged, and those in comparable situations to the former serviceman are being urged to investigate if they’ve lost out. The ombudsman indicated that this case is further proof – in the wake of the WASPI women pension changes controversy – of the DWP’s inadequate communication.
The issue for Mr Furnival and his wife, Sheila, aged 67, arose from their move to Brittany in 1994, during which they were not provided with necessary information by the DWP. Besides his state pension, Mr Furnival was also receiving Adult Dependency Increase (ADI) payments, a supplement given to households when the main income earner reached state pension age but their partner did not.
The regulations surrounding ADI payments were altered in the 2007 Pension Act, and no new claims for the supplement were accepted from 2010, with all payments ceasing by April 6, 2020. Those claiming the additional funds were informed about the change in 2010.
However, Mr Furnival was not notified until eight years later, in 2018, when he received an annual statement from the DWP indicating that his payments would decrease by £250 per month, reports Lancs Live.
He explained: “It came as a shock to me. They sent the leaflet to us every year, so they could have told us at any point from 2010 onwards. The key issue for me is why I wasn’t told that my income would be going down by approximately £70 a week sooner. We only have our pensions as income, so we were worried about what we were going to do to make ends meet.”
The 82-year-old pointed out that had the benefits and pensions department informed him when others were notified, he would have had an additional eight years to prepare for the financial impact. He continued: “That would have given us enough time to do something, my wife or I could have tried to get a job. By 2018 we had no way of replacing that income.
“This could have been handled much better, and I knew that it could well affect other people in the same situation. When I first queried it with DWP, they took nine months to reply, and it felt like we just went round and round. Which is why I then raised it with my MP and brought my complaint to the Ombudsman.”
Following an inquiry, the Ombudsman concluded that the DWP did not adequately communicate the changes and also failed to address his initial queries and complaints promptly. The Ombudsman has recommended that the DWP issue an apology and compensate Adrian £675 for the distress caused.
The exact number of overseas residents entitled to ADI remains a mystery, but figures from May 2019, a year before the cessation of ADI, revealed to Parliament by the DWP showed that 10,817 individuals were still receiving ADI payments each month. The Ombudsman has urged the benefits department to offer a “comparable remedy” to anyone else who finds themselves in a similar predicament.
For future interactions, the Ombudsman emphasised the importance of government bodies ensuring their communications with the public are “fair, clear, and consistent”. Rebecca Hilsenrath, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, commented: “Poor communication from Government departments damages trust in public services. DWP has a history of failing to communicate pension policy changes clearly and failing to learn from its mistakes. In Adrian’s case, this meant that, without the right information, he lost the opportunity to prepare for his retirement. It also caused him unnecessary financial worry.”
She added: “Anyone who believes they have had a similar experience to Adrian should contact DWP. DWP has complied with our recommendations and will provide a comparable remedy to anyone who approaches them with a similar situation.”