Overview
- FOI data show overpayments attributed to official errors jumped to £109 million in 2024–25, affecting about 220,000 pensioners.
- Only around £3 million was written off across 2,861 cases, leaving most of the mistakenly paid sums to be pursued as debt.
- The DWP says the excess payments arose from departmental mistakes rather than claimant misrepresentation.
- Officials link recovery efforts to the Fraud, Error and Recovery Bill, citing a goal to save £1.5 billion over five years.
- Advocates warn of hardship and poor communication to those billed, as a separate NAO finding indicates about 200,000 people are owed £1.5 billion from historic underpayments.