Hundreds of military veterans forced to pay back thousands due to government blunder

HUNDREDS of veterans have been ordered to repay tens of thousands of pounds after a government error caused their pension to be overpaid. The veterans have been told they must give back the cash, even though the overpayments are not their fault. The affected pensioners have seen the amount of monthly pension they get cut and face further reductions if they sign up to a repayment plan offered by the pension scheme. The error was made in the payment of the Armed Forces’ two final-salary schemes, which guarantee an income for life for 432,000 retired troops. Sign up for the Money newsletter Thank you! The pensions are supposed to rise in line with inflation each year but the inflation increase seems to have been made twice in error in some years. Public sector organisations have a legal obligation to recover overpaid funds regardless of who is at fault. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) discovered the error after a review of the Armed Forces Pension Scheme, which found a number of incorrect instances of over and underpayments. The pension scheme is administered by Defence Business Services, which is a unit in the MoD. The Forces Pension Society told The Daily Mail there were 398 cases. But it added that it is aware of a further 1,000 cases of other types of overpayment. Most read in Money The armed forces pension scheme has 1.2million members in total. An MoD spokesperson said: “We recognise that this error may cause uncertainty for people and we have contacted all those affected and are providing support for anyone who requires it. “Where payments have been made in genuine error, we have a responsibility to recover taxpayer funds and will always seek to do so in a sensitive and proportionate way, including through tailored repayment plans and one-to-one financial and welfare support from Veterans Services.” Anyone who is affected should contact the scheme administrator on 0345 121 2514 or for additional support, the MOD Helpline on 0808 1914 218. Comment now