The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has mistakenly overpaid £512 million in state pensions to dead people over the past few years, official figures reveal.
Since 2019-20, more than half a billion pounds has dropped in the bank accounts of deceased people, including a record £159 million sent out last year alone.
None of the money can be legally recovered and although the DWP usually writes to grieving families requesting it, any payments made are optional.
Speaking to The Telegraph, MP Rupert Lowe called for an overhaul of the system.
He said: “This is a shocking waste that underlines the contempt with which the Government treats taxpayers’ money. Why is it tolerated? Why is the return of this money not enforceable?
“This is wide open to fraud and abuse. It needs to be clamped down on as part of a wider Government effort to slash down on misspending. We must keep pushing for transparent data to uncover the true extent of the waste.”
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