HMRC wants state pensioner to pay £75 a week – from their state pension

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is demanding £75 weekly from a state pensioner to recover overpaid tax credits, resulting in an outcry from those affected who collect payments from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

In a heartfelt letter published by This is Money, a pensioner expressed their outrage: “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.”

The pensioner detailed their ordeal with threats of legal action which led to agreeing on a £4 deduction from their pension but questioned why it took nearly two decades for the DWP and HMRC to make any claims: “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.”

Now facing a demand for £147 every two weeks from their state pension has left this individual in severe distress: “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.”

The DWP has already initiated proceedings to reclaim the funds as stated in a recent communication: “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.”, reports Birmingham Live.

Upon enquiry by This is Money, both the DWP and HMRC decided that HMRC would respond on behalf of both departments.

An explanation provided was that although HMRC acknowledged the overpayments to the pensioner back in 2010, they deferred the collection due to the individual’s limited income at the time. The rationale behind HMRC or DWP’s sudden decision to now perceive a state pensioner as financially more stable than in 2010 remains baffling to many.

“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.”

“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.”

Following the newspaper’s involvement, HMRC slashed the demand from £75 weekly to just £4 every two weeks. “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.

Despite several inquiries by This is Money, no representative from HMRC could clarify why, given these circumstances, the pensioner would be financially better positioned than in 2010.

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