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HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has demanded £75 a week from pensioners for overpaid tax credits. State pensioners claiming payments from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have been frustrated by how HMRC has treated them.
One pensioner, voicing their frustration to This is Money, said: “I was medically retired from Royal Mail in 2015, after 32 years of employment. In 2021, I was told that I had been overpaid Working Tax Credits between 2003 and 2005.
“When I was threatened with legal action, I agreed to a deduction of £4 from my pension. I did ask why it had taken the Department for Work and Pensions and HM Revenue and Customs 18 years to pursue any claim.
“I was told that the money was owed, and that was that. But now they want to collect £147 fortnightly from my state pension, and I am beside myself with worry.”
In a letter, the DWP warned: “We are writing about money that you need to pay back. We have arranged to take deductions from your benefit to pay this money back.”
This is Money replied, according to Birmingham Live : “I approached officials at both DWP and HMRC, and they agreed that HMRC would answer me for both departments.
“HMRC told me that it informed you of the overpayments in 2010, but postponed collection because of your low income. Why anyone at HMRC or DWP suddenly decided that as a state pensioner, you were better off today than you were in 2010 is a complete mystery.”
Following intervention by the publication, HMRC lowered the claim from £75 per week to £4 per fortnight. “HMRC has carefully reviewed Mr M’s case and found the overpayments on his record are correct. DWP is collecting what’s owed in an affordable way,” a spokesperson for the tax authority stated.
However, despite repeated requests from This is Money, no HMRC representative was able to provide a clear explanation for why the pensioner’s financial situation would be more favourable now than it was in 2010.
