THOUSANDS of pensioners are being warned not to ignore a letter from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which could see them stop receiving their state pension.

Thousands of pensioners get paid their state pension from the DWP into Post Office accounts, but they have just months left to make other arrangements.

Thousands of pensioners are being warned not to ignore a letter from the DWP

1

Thousands of pensioners are being warned not to ignore a letter from the DWPCredit: PA

Payments will not be made into Post Office accounts from November 30 and anyone who doesn’t make other arrangements could see their payments stop.

The cash will be held for them until they do organise another payment method, but it could leave thousands of people on the brink financially.

The change also affects people receiving Universal Credit payments.

It comes after tax credits and child benefit payments made into Post Office card accounts were stopped as of April 5.

Little-known scheme to get free cash for travel and childcare
Thousands of pensioners could get up to £200 for soaring food and energy costs

A statement on the Post Office website says: “DWP and HMRC are writing to Post Office customers to inform you of your options in the future.

“Please do not ignore the letters. The information within them informs all Post Office customers of their options.”

An estimated 780,000 people use a Post Office card account, which can be used to withdraw funds with no fees or charges.

The Post Office card account is a service linked to the DWP that lets you receive your state pensionUniversal Credit or other benefit payments.

Most read in Money

It was introduced in 2003 to replace the old state pension “order books”.

The service already closed for new benefit claimants, and now existing claimants will have to move accounts too.

Pensioners will soon receive another reminder letter, and are being urged not to ignore it.

On its website, the Post Office said: “Please do not ignore the letters. The information within them informs all Post Office customers of their options.”

What do I need to do now?

To make sure you continue to receive your payments you need to tell DWP your new account details.

If you already have a bank or building society account, you can request that payments are made into that.

Alternatively, a basic bank account is designed for people who don’t qualify for a bank’s current standard account – for example, if they have a poor credit history.

The date you get paid and the amount you get will not change – just the way you get paid.

If you’re closing your Post Office account, you should be sure to withdraw any money in it first.

The Department for Work and Pensions was approached for a comment.

We pay for your stories!

Do you have a story for The Sun Online Money team?

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

From Mars’ cheap and cheerful classic to M&M’s quirkiest yet – we test all the Easter eggs to find best value for money

EASTER eggs come in all shapes and sizes — but as we…

A fifth of motorists waste £140 of fuel a year by driving with all four tyres underinflated, study finds

Millions of drivers are wasting hundreds of pounds in fuel a year…

My dad won £7.9million Postcode Lottery share – it was the saddest day of my life when we received that golden envelope

A DAUGHTER has told how her dad scooped part of a £7.9million…

New online state pension top-ups service delayed: No launch date yet

State pension top-ups: Online service is delayed with no launch date as…