The state pension is given to people when they reach the state retirement age of 66 and is between £141 and £185 per week.

After someone has died their death must be reported within five days in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

In Scotland, it’s eight days however it can take weeks or months for state pension payments to stop.

In these circumstances, payments are eventually clawed back by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) which writes to relatives of those who have passed away, asking them to return overpaid state pension payments.

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