Help for returning resident

beanjay1

I wonder if anyone is able to offer me advice or helpful suggestions?

I am a British pensioner living overseas. I worked most of my life overseas and continued to pay NI contributions on the advice of the British government. Then I find that in 1989 they changed the rules and confiscated my contributions and now tell me that British pensioners living overseas are no longer eligible for treatment under the NHS whilst in Britain.

I am now compelled to return with my partner to try and live in the UK on my pension and her small income. My partner has “no recourse to public funds”. This is as it should be and she will pay her way whilst in England but she still has to pay Tax and National Insurance. He income is then added to mine and I understand that the result is that I am no longer able to claim my full Housing Benefit and Council Tax entitlement as a single person, I can only claim a part of it.

Is there any way around my being penalised in this way?

beanjay

Oldernotwiser

beanjay1 wrote: »

I wonder if anyone is able to offer me advice or helpful suggestions?

I am a British pensioner living overseas. I worked most of my life overseas and continued to pay NI contributions on the advice of the British government. Then I find that in 1989 they changed the rules and confiscated my contributions and now tell me that British pensioners living overseas are no longer eligible for treatment under the NHS whilst in Britain.

I am now compelled to return with my partner to try and live in the UK on my pension and her small income. My partner has “no recourse to public funds”. This is as it should be and she will pay her way whilst in England but she still has to pay Tax and National Insurance. He income is then added to mine and I understand that the result is that I am no longer able to claim my full Housing Benefit and Council Tax entitlement as a single person, I can only claim a part of it.

Is there any way around my being penalised in this way?

beanjay

You won't have an entitlement to HB and CTC credit as "a single person" simply because you won't be a single person but part of a couple. This would be the same situation whatever nationalities were involved. As a co-habiting couple your finances will be treated together for means tested benefits purposes, although I'm not sure about the situation with pension credits. Once you become resident in the UK again then you'll be eligible to rejoin the NHS.

Voyager2002

I am not sure what you mean about your NI contributions being "confiscated". Presumably they entitle you to a state pension. And yes, if you live in certain countries then your pension does not increase with inflation, but once you have returned to the UK it should be increased to take account of inflation since you retired.

beanjay1

Thanks for the responses. The part of my National Insurance contributions that covered my entitlement to NHS treatment was confiscated in 1989 and at that time I had paid contributions for 35 years. I paid because I was told by the then DHSS that I would continue to be eligible for NHS treatment whilst living abroad if I did so.

I know that I cannot be treated as “part of a couple” when HB and CTB is calculated as my partner cannot share in those benefits and I will have to pay her share. I don’t mind that but what I don’t like is that any income she has is added to mine to calculate my benefits. I have to absorb my increased share due to her earnings plus her share of the rent and Council Tax. Please correct me if I am wrong.

What I am really asking is how can I maximise my benefits. I have never had benefits before and outside the UK I can live very comfortably on my pension (which I paid for for 50 years!). I would not be returning now if the government had not change the NHS regulations in 1989.

Thanks for the comments

beanjay

shjo558

There is nothing to stop you claiming Housing/Council Benefit. The rules regarding people with no recourse to public funds are only for the actual benefit claimant and not the partner. So as long as you make sure you put yourself down as the claimant and your partner as the partner that will be fine. Your partner only has to satisfy one bit of legislation and that is applying for a NINO. In the UK anyone can apply for one - there are no barriers whatsoever!

There are other obstacles as you have not lived in the UK for so long but if you are back for good so to speak you may be able to pass the 'Habitual Residency Test' and 'Immigration Status Test' - (that's the 2 main tests for non UK people who come to UK or come back to UK)

I take it you have been living outwith the EU area and this isn't my strong point without doing research into legislation. But try claiming HB/CTB and see what happens.

beanjay1

Thank you shjo for that useful information. I have always lived and worked outside the EEA but because of frequent visits to the UK I did not lose residents status, except for the NHS. I have always paid UK Income Tax when this has been a requirement.

The reason for my being ultra cautious is that if we unintentionally breach the regulations through ignorance we could be deported.

We will certainly try claiming my benefits and make it clear that my partner has NRPF. This seems to be the only thing that we can do but it is good to know the position in advance.

Thanks once again

beanjay

Oldernotwiser

shjo558 wrote: »

There is nothing to stop you claiming Housing/Council Benefit. The rules regarding people with no recourse to public funds are only for the actual benefit claimant and not the partner. So as long as you make sure you put yourself down as the claimant and your partner as the partner that will be fine. Your partner only has to satisfy one bit of legislation and that is applying for a NINO. In the UK anyone can apply for one - there are no barriers whatsoever!

There are other obstacles as you have not lived in the UK for so long but if you are back for good so to speak you may be able to pass the 'Habitual Residency Test' and 'Immigration Status Test' - (that's the 2 main tests for non UK people who come to UK or come back to UK)

I take it you have been living outwith the EU area and this isn't my strong point without doing research into legislation. But try claiming HB/CTB and see what happens.

You seem to know a lot about this; are you saying that in a situation like this the partner's income will be ignored for the purpose of means tested benefits? It seems a bit of a loophole if that's the case.

bestpud

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

You seem to know a lot about this; are you saying that in a situation like this the partner's income will be ignored for the purpose of means tested benefits? It seems a bit of a loophole if that's the case.

I took it to mean they cannot claim in the partners name, rather than the partners incomes will be ignored? So the claim would not be barred altogether, just because of the partner's status.

I'm not sure why their income wouldn't be taken into account. Whatever their status, income is income - same for all of us -isn't it?

Oldernotwiser

bestpud wrote: »

I took it to mean they cannot claim in the partners name, rather than the partners incomes will be ignored? So the claim would not be barred altogether, just because of the partner's status.

I'm not sure why their income wouldn't be taken into account. Whatever their status, income is income - same for all of us -isn't it?

I know what you're saying but the OP wasn't talking about making a joint claim for IS but was worried about getting his "full" HB and CTC for a single person. Surely if he's living with someone and wanting to claim HB and CTC for their accommodation then the partner's income is going to affect this? It isn't as if there's a single person's allowance for these that he can claim.

I'm not sure if I'm confused or if it's shjo558. It's probably me!

bestpud

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

I know what you're saying but the OP wasn't talking about making a joint claim for IS but was worried about getting his "full" HB and CTC for a single person. Surely if he's living with someone and wanting to claim HB and CTC for their accommodation then the partner's income is going to affect this? It isn't as if there's a single person's allowance for these that he can claim.

I'm not sure if I'm confused or if it's shjo558. It's probably me!

Well, if you are confused then so am I because I understand exactly what you are saying! :rotfl:

I think there is something very wrong if the OP is able to disregard the partners income too. And no, they should not be able to claim as a single person either.

I think shjo558 perhaps thinks the OP is asking if they can still claim HB per se, given one of them is not entitled to public funds. The answer fits that question anyway. But I may be wrong!

astralbee

beanjay1 wrote: »

My partner has “no recourse to public funds”...... Is there any way around my being penalised in this way?

Get married?

D :rotfl: