The UK Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has faced renewed scrutiny after figures revealed that £170 million in State Pension and Pension Credit payments went to deceased pensioners during the 2025-26 financial year. A substantial portion of the money remains unrecovered, raising questions about how government departments identify deaths, update benefit records, and recover payments made in error.
According to figures obtained under freedom of information and reported by The Daily Telegraph, the DWP wrote off £16.5 million of the debt associated with payments to deceased pensioners during the year. Officials were seeking to recover a further £67 million, while other sums had already been recovered or remained subject to recovery action.
The issue has attracted attention because it involves public money, administrative procedures, and the difficult circumstances families face after losing a loved one. However, money paid after a pensioner’s death does not automatically mean that relatives have committed wrongdoing or that every family must repay the amount.
Payments
The reported figures indicate that £170 million in State Pension and Pension Credit payments was issued to deceased pensioners during 2025-26. The amount is described as the highest annual total on record.
Over the previous five years, payments to deceased pensioners reportedly reached £673 million. Of that amount, approximately £348 million was recovered, while almost £240 million was written off.
These figures illustrate the scale of the administrative challenge facing the DWP. Pension payments are generally arranged to arrive regularly, and a delay in updating records can result in further payments being issued after a recipient has died.
The amounts involved can vary depending on how quickly the department receives notification, whether payments continue for several weeks or months, and how much can subsequently be recovered.
It is important to distinguish between payments issued after death and money ultimately lost to the public purse. Some overpayments are recovered, some remain under investigation or recovery action, and others are written off when recovery is not considered practical or cost-effective.
The reported £170 million figure therefore should not be interpreted as the final amount of money permanently lost during the financial year.
Recovery
The DWP has stated that it seeks to recover overpayments when doing so is reasonable and cost-effective. However, recovery can be complicated when payments have entered a deceased person’s bank account and relatives are dealing with the estate.
According to the reported figures, £16.5 million was written off during 2025-26, while officials were attempting to recover £67 million. The remaining sums may fall into other recovery categories or reflect differences in the reporting period and accounting treatment.
Writing off a debt generally means the department has decided not to pursue recovery under the applicable circumstances. It does not necessarily mean that every payment made after a death is automatically exempt from recovery.
The circumstances surrounding each case matter. The department may need to establish how the payment occurred, whether the money remains in an account, whether an estate is involved, and whether recovery is legally possible.
For families, the distinction is important. An unexpected payment arriving after a relative’s death does not, by itself, establish that the recipient’s family deliberately obtained money improperly.
Families
One of the most sensitive aspects of the issue is the position of bereaved families. Relatives may be managing funeral arrangements, probate, financial paperwork, and other responsibilities when a pension payment arrives after a death.
Former Pensions Minister Sir Steve Webb has explained that overpayments can occur when a death is not registered or reported to the DWP promptly. He has also highlighted the limits on the department’s ability to require relatives to repay money in every circumstance.
However, the statement that families do not have to repay overpaid pension money should not be treated as a universal legal rule.
Responsibility can depend on the circumstances, including whether the payment remains part of the deceased person’s estate, whether an estate representative is involved, and whether a person received or retained money to which they were not entitled. Deliberately concealing a death or knowingly retaining money in circumstances where repayment is legally required can raise separate issues.
Anyone who discovers that pension payments continued after a relative died should contact the relevant department or follow its instructions rather than assume the money can be kept.
The appropriate response may differ from case to case, and families should seek guidance before distributing estate assets if an overpayment is suspected.
Causes
The central administrative problem is the gap that can occur between a person’s death and the DWP updating its benefit records.
If the department does not receive notification promptly, scheduled payments may continue. A bank account may remain open temporarily, and the payment system may not immediately identify that the beneficiary has died.
The problem can be more complicated when different public services hold separate records or when information takes time to move between organisations.
The government offers a service called Tell Us Once to help reduce this administrative burden. It allows a death to be reported to several participating government departments and public services through a single process.
The service can help notify the relevant authorities, but families should follow the official instructions to ensure the necessary information is supplied.
The DWP says that it acts to update records once it has been notified of a death and encourages bereaved families to use the service.
More information is available through the UK government’s official Tell Us Once service.
Deadlines
The rules for registering a death differ across the UK, and registering a death is not the same as notifying every department that may be paying benefits.
The reporting provided with the original figures states that deaths must be registered within five days in England and Wales and within eight days in Scotland, subject to applicable rules and circumstances. These deadlines concern death registration, rather than a single universal deadline for notifying the DWP.
Families should check the official guidance relevant to the country where the death occurred and the specific administrative step required.
The government’s official guidance on what to do when someone dies explains the procedures involved, including registration, notifying government departments, and dealing with financial matters.
Prompt notification can help prevent additional payments from being issued and reduce the work required to correct records later.
Taxpayers
The reported overpayments have also prompted concerns about the management of public funds.
Shimeon Lee of the TaxPayers’ Alliance criticised the scale of the payments, arguing that large sums had reached accounts belonging to people who had already died and that the figures pointed to weaknesses in the system.
The DWP has maintained that it seeks to recover debt where it is reasonable and cost-effective to do so. The department must balance the recovery of public money against the administrative cost of pursuing individual cases and the circumstances of bereaved families.
Ministers have reportedly noted that unrecovered amounts represent around 0.1% of annual pension spending, estimated at approximately £150 billion. Although that proportion is relatively small compared with total expenditure, the absolute amount remains significant.
The figures also highlight the importance of accurate records and timely communication between government departments, banks, and families.
Outlook
The amount paid to deceased pensioners could remain a concern as the number of pensioners grows and benefit rates rise. Even if the proportion of payments affected remains relatively small, higher average payments could increase the total value of overpayments.
Improving death notification procedures, maintaining accurate records, and identifying payments made after a beneficiary’s death could help limit future cases. The effectiveness of those measures will depend on how quickly information is shared and how consistently records are updated.
For families, the main practical step is to report a death promptly, use Tell Us Once where appropriate, and check how any payments received after the death should be handled. If an overpayment has occurred, the family or estate representative should request clear information from the relevant department about the amount involved and any repayment requirements.
The reported £170 million in payments to deceased pensioners during 2025-26 highlights a continuing administrative challenge for the DWP. While some payments are recovered and others are written off, the figures do not mean every case involves fraud or that relatives automatically become personally responsible for the money. The outcome depends on the individual circumstances, the applicable rules, and whether recovery is legally and practically possible.
