Ex employer wants me to visit every year to confirm I am still alive.

[HansonMike49]

I am being paid a pension by my ex employer and they have said that they have had problems with pensioners who have passed away and they have not been informed of the death.
I have now received a letter stating in view of the distance ( 400 miles ) they will require me to visit once a year so they can confirm I am still alive.
Obviously this will be expensive as there will be train fare and an overnight stay.
I have asked the position re the expenses and the response I have had is it my pension and if I want it I will have to come and see them and they will not be paid.
The other problem I can forsee is I can make the journey now at age 63 but will I be OK to do this journey in 20 years time?.
I have sugested I could sit in front of my laptop as it has a webcam and we could talk over the phone.
Are my ex employers allowed to impose conditions like this.

Mike

[marden40]

wouldn't they accept you getting a local solicitor to confirm that you are still around?.......surely a letter from them would be the best, then they have physical proof of your claim of existence.

[B00]

or a letter from your GP?

[NOX]

Total lunacy. My mother i law was faced with a similar request and she told them to shove it and that would recieve a letter from her gp yearly and like it or she wqould take them to court. So far ( she's 73) they haven't kicked up a fuss. I think your firm are being unreasonable in the extreme. what if you decided to go and live abroad, or became housbound? Not a reasonable request.

[sandyRoe]

If you'd went to live in Australia or the USA when you retired would they still expect you to appear before them to prove you were still entitled to the pension?

[MarkRae]

Alternatively, be totally matter of fact about it and ask them which department you should invoice for the reimbursement of your travelling and accommodation expenses since, due to the distance involved, you will need to stay overnight...

[HannaJayne52]

Hi Mike

Even if you can make the journey in say 20 years time will anybody know you at the firm you worked for?.
Don't forget you could live to 105 and there would certainly be nobody there you know then.
I don't like to have to say this but you could get something like dementia in later life and you may not be able to have a phone conversation.

Hanna

[emmie]

totally preposterous for all the reasons already stated. I would tell them where to go, politely of course.

[Old_Geezer]

No lawyer, but I'd have thought they were obliged to continue to pay the pension you have a right to, and I wonder what the legal position is if threatening not to unless you 'jump through the hoops' for them. I'd have thought the responsibility of getting it right was with them, not you. Don't companies have some system with government authorities that flag on the death of someone ? The authorities know.

[emmie]

OG, the authorities don't always know, that is how come payments are often still made to the deceased. Especially DWP, shambolic at the best of times, one government department doesn't know what the others do and so forth.

[rowanwitch]

Was it in the original small print? doubt it... Tell them they are being unreasonable but you are happy to write to them each year and they can check your signature...

[weecalf]

thats a new one in the factory where i worked the boss checked quite to see if some of the staff was still alive as they do so little .only place where we used ear muffs to stop the noise of the snoring not the machines

[boxtops]

That's an unreasonable demand - what would happen if you were bedbound in later years? - still entitled to the pension, but unable to travel. I'd contact your pensions administrator and find out exactly what they've asked the company to do.

[Old_Geezer]

I'm unsure I'm keen on government departments tying together information database information and mapping out everything about me anyway. Shudder at the potential implications when the authorities are not benign. But even with the most shambolic system something must flag up at some point. perhaps when one or other department finds an unexplained lack of expected contact, and tries to get in touch.

But even where if someone has illegally decided to die without a death certificate giving them permission, how difficult is it to reclaim erroneous overpayments into an account no one has been using since the individual's death ?

[EDDIE51]

Absurd , stupid probably illegal and totally unreasonable. Tell where to go , get the CAB to write a letter telling them this is an illegal request.

[SlackAlice]

I'd do the same as MarkRae and suggest they cover all your travelling expenses and overnight accommodation for your self and a companion. Intimate you only travel First class and stay at 5 star hotels.

[MaryJayne99]

Might be worth asking the advice of the pension's ombudsman.
I have to complete a form every 2 years and get it countersigned by somebody on a list my ex employers provide. They have to have known you for 3 years.
When I had to get it signed for the first time I got a bank employee to sign it from my old area as I had only been at my new address for about 18 months and nobody had known me for 3 years locally.
I had a query why I had got somebody to sign it who works 150 miles away and the person said this can not be accepted. I then asked to speak to the manager and he said this signature was OK on this occasion but not in 2 years time.
Oddly enough a doctor is listed on the form but not a dentist. My doctor had retired and I had not even visited my new doctor when it last had to be signed.
Teacher was included. I got a teacher who had only just qualifed and had only been working at the school for 3 days to sign it. She had known me for years however and it was accepted.
I did notice another person which could have signed is an employee of my local council. I would have been interested to know if our refuge collectors or even the street sweeper would have been OK as they are employed by the council.

Mary

[tonywiltshire]

Speak to your trustees it may well be an unfair condition to apply and leave instructions that the trustees of your pension are notified of your demise. .

They are correct in saying that not being notified can be a major problem but they are in no different position to any other pension provider. Do not accept this demand, write to your trustees and explain your position say you wish to take the matter to the Pensions Ombudsman if you are unable to resolve the matter with them. If they are not prepared to resolve the matter to your satisfaction contact the PO on 020 7630 2200.

[joko]

yes if theyare prepared to pay petrol and put you up over night in a nice hotel - as 800 miles at that ages is too much to drive without a rest, then go and use it as an opportunity to visit any old friends etc in the area

thats not to mention the fact that by then you may need a carer or a wheelchair etc...so theyd need to pay for them too

i think a webcam is a good idea...but so too is the GP letter - or you could authorise them to phone your GP to confirm - as i suppose they may think you could fake a GPs letter (!)
a solicitor would charge - and possibly so would a GP to write a letter so a phone call is probably best

[daftgrandad]

I am sent a form once a year,by one of my pension providers.I have to get this signed by a person of responsibility e.g GP, Bank Manager etc,to prove I'm still alive.
If it was suggested to me,that I had to visit them,for the same purpose,I would have no hesitation in telling them to go forth and multiply.They cannot stop paying the pension.

[dzug2]

<<if our refuge collectors or even the street sweeper would have been OK as they are employed by the council.>>

Possibly in your area, but in many places they are employed by a contractor who provides the service on behalf of the council