Thousands of pensioners may be entitled to compensation from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) after an investigation conducted by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO). According to Daily Record, the Ombudsman’s findings suggest that the lack of timely communication has caused unnecessary financial strain for many pensioners.
DWP’s Delayed Communication Causes Financial Loss
Adrian Furnival, 82, and his wife Sheila, 67, moved to Brittany in 1994. In 2018, Adrian discovered through the DWP’s annual uprating letter that, starting in 2020, he would lose his Adult Dependency Increase (ADI) payments.
These payments, which are given to households where one partner has reached State Pension age but the other has not, were removed for those living in the UK in 2010. However, Adrian was not informed about this change until 2018, leaving him over £250 a month worse off, which amounts to £3,000 a year.
The PHSO found that the DWP should have communicated these changes to Adrian much earlier, specifically in April 2010. This delay in communication meant Adrian lost the opportunity to prepare for his retirement and led to significant financial distress.
Ombudsman’s Findings and Recommendations
The Ombudsman’s investigation revealed that the DWP not only failed to inform Adrian in a timely manner but also failed to respond to his initial queries and complaints promptly.
The PHSO criticized the DWP, stating that the department “failed to respond to his initial queries and complaints in a timely way.” As a result, the Ombudsman has recommended that the DWP issue an apology to Adrian and pay him £675 for the injustice he suffered.
Rebecca Hilsenrath, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, emphasised that poor communication from government departments undermines trust in public services. She stated,
Poor communication from Government departments damages trust in public services – She added,
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.
The Ombudsman further noted,
The number of those who were living abroad and entitled to ADI is unknown, but in May 2019, a year before ADI ended, DWP told Parliament that 10,817 people were still in receipt of ADI.
Broader Implications and Future Communication Improvements
The PHSO also pointed out that the DWP’s failure to inform those affected by the ADI changes may have had a widespread impact.
While the number of people living abroad and receiving ADI is unclear, the DWP acknowledged that 10,817 people were still receiving ADI as of May 2019, just a year before the payments ended. The Ombudsman has recommended that the DWP offer a “comparable remedy” to anyone in a similar situation.
DWP has accepted the Ombudsman’s findings of maladministration but has not agreed to establish a compensation scheme for women affected by changes to the State Pension age, particularly those born in the 1950s.
However, the department has committed to improving its communication strategies going forward.
It has agreed to work with the Ombudsman to create a new action plan to ensure that future pension-related changes are communicated clearly, fairly, and consistently, as the Ombudsman urged, so that
Communication is always fair, clear, and consistent
