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Written question asked by Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative) on Friday, 28 August 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 2 September 2026. It was answered by Calvin Bailey (Labour) on Friday, 25 September 2026 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Armed Forces: Workplace Pensions

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's document entitled Annual Report and Accounts 2024-2025, published on 4 November 2025, for what reason was there an Aged Debt Irrecoverable Pension Overpayment of £2,383,000.

Answer

No such figure appears in the referenced document.

However, in the interests of providing a more complete answer, officials were asked to consider if this figure had basis elsewhere and, after some searching, identified that the figure referred to in the question actually came from the Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts 2025-2026 published on 15 July 2026.

The amount in question was a bulk write-off of irrecoverable War Pension Scheme (WPS) overpayments that were over six years old and fell outside the recoverable timeline by virtue of their age profile. There was no single or systemic cause of the overpayments which were often linked to changes in personal circumstances not promptly reported or identified.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
23019
Session
2026-27
Related items
Report and Accounts of Ministry of Defence
Tuesday, 4 November 2025
House of Commons papers
House of Commons
Subjects
Armed forces Overpayments Workplace pensions
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk