Benefits January 22, 2008

U.K. Government Demands Pension Repayment from Vets

January 22, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The British government has demanded that 98 veterans repay nearly 2 million pounds ($3.3 million) in pension overpayments.

Reported by

Fred Schneyer

The U.K.’s Ministry of Defense issued the demand after a review discovered the extra benefits dating back several months, according to the Daily Mirror newspaper. The money is being recouped through reduced benefit payments or by making no benefit payments at all to some vets, according to the news report.

A veteran’s group, the Royal British Legion, labeled the Ministry of Defense’s demand a disgrace and declared that making the vets “repay because of an error is unfair,” according to the report.

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The veterans cashed their payments in good faith, the group maintained.

According to the news report, Parliament has issued a call for British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to step into the matter and resolve it on the veterans’ behalf.