DWP writes eight-page letter to cut Dave's pension by a penny

Dave Welldon has received an eight-page letter from the DWP cutting his pension by a penny a week. Picture: Ross Parry Agency

GOVERNMENT bureaucrats have sent an eight-page letter to a man to tell him his pension is being cut by just a penny a week.

Former engineer Dave Welldon, 65, who retired last June, was told his weekly income would drop from £148.23 to £148.22.

After being adjusted for inflation his pension will be £151.57 from April - 1p a week less than expected.

The miniscule deduction was made after the Department for Work and Pensions found a shortfall in his National Insurance contributions.

But Mr Welldon, of East Ardsley, Wakefield, said the cost of posting the lengthy letter would be more than they take off him in a year.

He said: “If I live to be 100 then 52p a year for 35 years is only £18.

“People who are working are paying for my state pension. That’s what grieves me about it.

“If you work it out, from when I retired in June to when they changed it, it’s 37p.”

Despite the 1p cut, the DWP said Mr Welldon may still be able to get more pension credits to help make up the shortfall.

A DWP spokesman said: “Mr Welldon’s pension has changed, based on updated information from his National Insurance record.

“We have a duty to the taxpayer to be accurate with all our benefit payments, and a duty to the individual to inform them of the changes - no matter how small.”