DWP Faces Backlash as Pensioners Advised to Check for £3,000 Loss
The DWP is under fire again as thousands of pensioners are urged to verify potential £3,000 losses due to communication failures
Pensioners, DWP, Adrian Furnival, Brittany, UK
London: So, it turns out that a lot of folks are being told to check their pension payments. Why? Because the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) messed up big time. A former British Army soldier, Adrian Furnival, found out he was missing out on £3,000 a year because the DWP didn’t keep him in the loop about changes to his state pension.
This whole situation has been flagged by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO). They’re saying that if Adrian got the short end of the stick, there are probably thousands of other pensioners in the same boat. It’s a real mess, especially after all the fuss about pension changes for WASPI women.
Adrian and his wife, Sheila, moved to Brittany back in 1994. But the DWP didn’t give them the info they needed. Adrian was getting Adult Dependency Increase (ADI) payments, which are meant to help when one partner is of pension age and the other isn’t. But the rules changed in 2007, and he didn’t find out until 2018 that his payments were going to drop by £250 a month.
Imagine getting that news after years of not knowing! Adrian was shocked. He said they could have told him at any point since 2010. Now, they’re living on their pensions, and this sudden drop has made things really tough for them.
He mentioned that if he had known earlier, he could have planned better. Maybe he or Sheila could have found a job to help make ends meet. But by the time he found out, it was too late. He felt like he was just going in circles trying to get answers from the DWP, which took ages to respond.
After the Ombudsman looked into it, they found that the DWP really dropped the ball on communication. They recommended that the DWP apologize and pay Adrian £675 for the trouble he went through. It’s a small consolation, but at least it’s something.
There’s no clear number on how many people living abroad are affected by this ADI issue, but back in May 2019, the DWP said over 10,000 people were still receiving those payments. The Ombudsman is pushing for better communication from government bodies so that people aren’t left in the dark like Adrian was.
Rebecca Hilsenrath from the Ombudsman’s office said that poor communication really damages trust in public services. She emphasized that the DWP has a history of not clearly communicating pension policy changes. Adrian’s case is just one example of how this can lead to unnecessary stress and financial worry.
She also encouraged anyone who thinks they might be in a similar situation to reach out to the DWP. They’re supposed to help those who come forward with similar issues. It’s a tough situation, but hopefully, this will lead to better communication in the future.