Pensions continue beyond the grave

Death is not the end for receiving a New Zealand pension, with some receiving payments after a month in the grave.

The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) has continued to pay veterans’ pensions or superannuation payments to almost 7000 people for a month or more after their death during the past five years.

The figures – requested under the Official Information Act in 2015 then released more than two years later – show the number of post-death payments is increasing due to the rising number of New Zealand pensioners.

According to Mary Sewell, from the ministry, Work and Income receives death notifications from the Department of Internal Affairs.

But there was often a lag between payments being processed and notification of the death – which could come via families or the department. ‘‘In addition, benefits are paid in advance and the Internal Affairs data is, by necessity, retrospective. This can also result in an overpayment.’’

Even if MSD had been notified someone had died, it had to doublecheck that was correct.

‘‘It is not acceptable for us to get this wrong. That process can also contribute to overpayments.’’

This meant that when families could not notify of the death, it did get picked up – a matching process that was a ‘‘very effective backstop at a time where people are experiencing grief and grappling with the range of things that need to be managed’’, Sewell said.

While MSD supplied data for overpayments of 30 days or more, the average delay was two weeks.

Once an overpayment had been made, MSD had the task of recovering the money – a process usually handled through the executor or administrator of the estate.

‘‘Overpayments are either recovered through the deceased person’s estate or, where the person has a spouse, through agreed repayments,’’ Sewell said.

‘‘The ministry does not demand repayments that might place a bereaved person in hardship.’’

Harbour City funeral director Simon Manning said it was mostly a perfect system and it meant families did not have to deal with the process while grieving. It took up to four weeks for the government systems to work.

‘‘I don’t know why it can’t happen sooner really but that’s life.’’ Not found

The tricky ones were the cases where people died but were not found for a period of time, meaning their payments continued.

Wellington had a spate of such cases though it is not clear if all were on super or pension payments.

In August 2011, the remains of Wellington pensioner Michael Clarke, 86, were found at his Newtown bedsit.

Old newspapers and out-of-datefood suggested he could have died as long ago as June 2010.

Wiremu Whakaue, 68, died in his Granville Flats apartment in 2009. His decomposing body was discovered eight months later, in March 2010.

It was exactly the same flat that Dean Stewart, 63, lay dead behind the door for up to a month before he was found.