Retirees checklist...

maggiem

Hi,
i think clarity of information about attendance allowance and other allowances is needed. My mother had a stroke and the social worker was very negative about applying for attendance allowance - said there was no point and she would have to wait 6 months. Filling in forms and noting when the problems began resulted in little wait and a very useful tax free allowance that helps to pay for care bills even though she is self funding. I do worry people may be eligible for these allowances and be put off by the complexity of the forms and a view put forward by a social worker.

Maggie

System

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

Thanks Martin for not forgetting about us.

I'm particularly interested in making sure women have their full entitlement to State Pension, although I feel that today's young women will not suffer the same as my generation (60 in 2010) and older, due both to the recent changes and also different perceptions.

Other than that, how to keep your home so you can hand it to your kids.

Thanks once again.

That reminds me, about ten yrs ago, my wife received a letter from the tax people, saying that she had the opportunity to pay about £500 to them to ensure she had the full state pension, I think this was a result of not working for some years, although I may be wrong. As she is now 56, we are wondering if we ought to see the Welfare Rights to determine our course of action before it's too late.

Androcles

How about something on what you can give after retirement now you have that most valuable commodity - time! It keeps the brain active, helps get things done which might not get done otherwise, keeps costs down, so sharing some ideas might help if you are not sure what you could do.

Since I stopped working in paid employment full time, I have been astounded at how many things there are that need doing locally and can be done purely on the basis of taking responsibility to make something happen.......

I come across lost of people who whinge about "them" not doing anything, so now ask "OK, but what can YOU do about it?"

EdInvestor

islandman wrote: »

As she is now 56, we are wondering if we ought to see the Welfare Rights to determine our course of action before it's too late.

It's probably not relevant now as the state pension rules have changed for people retiring after 2010 and only 30 years are now required to qualify for the full basic.

The best thing to do is to get a pension forecast here:

https://www.thepensionservice.gov.uk

The forecast should also tell you how much you will get for the 2nd state pension, which many people don't seem to know about. In some cases, S2P (formerly SERPS) will double the person's basic state pension.

Another thing to remember is that people over 65 can have tax-free income of up to 9k, shortly to rise to 10k a year.So your state pension and any other pension on top of that, up to 10k p.a will be tax free.

BTW, the state pension is not a benefit, it is an entitlement which you pay for via National Insurance contributions.That's why it's not means-tested.

pandora205

How about a summary on gap year/breaks for pensioners? This is becoming very popular - I'm planning one myself in about 10 years time and have only general ideas about how to go about it. There are lots of financial issues including insurance, health care abroad, renting out home, pension and entitlements, earning abroad and best deals. I know there are some threads on here.

Errata

Some over 65's may wish to take a job. A list of those companies who welcome over 65 employees - Asda, B&Q to name two - would be helpful.

givememoney

Don't forget in the financial year you are 65 you can apply for the higher tax allowance although you are still only 64.

My husband isn't 65 till December but gets the £9000 approx. tax allowance now.

margaretclare

maggiem wrote: »

Hi,
i think clarity of information about attendance allowance and other allowances is needed. My mother had a stroke and the social worker was very negative about applying for attendance allowance - said there was no point and she would have to wait 6 months. Filling in forms and noting when the problems began resulted in little wait and a very useful tax free allowance that helps to pay for care bills even though she is self funding. I do worry people may be eligible for these allowances and be put off by the complexity of the forms and a view put forward by a social worker.

Maggie

If any problem arises BEFORE age 65 that is likely to continue or to get worse, then apply before the 65th birthday. You get a much better deal from Disability Living Allowance. I wish I had done this. My daughter age 47 gets DLA and has a car funded by the mobility component of DLA. We have similar problems due to bone and joint abnormalities.

With DLA it is assumed that you still want to live as normal a life as possible. Cooking a meal for yourself, the difficulty of getting a casserole out of the oven because of chronic back strain, for example, is taken into account. Once you pass 65 cooking a meal is not one of the things considered for Attendance Allowance. It is assumed that you need 'care' and don't need/wish to stay independent. As a Benefits Adviser at CAB told me 'You can always have meals-on-wheels or it's assumed that someone will do the cooking for you'.

It is not assumed that after age 65 you need any help with the cost of running a car - after all, you now have free bus travel, haven't you? The fact that you can't walk as far as the bus stop approx 150 yards away, and you have often not even been able to walk as far as the front gate, is not taken into account.

So I would advise anyone - apply before age 65 if possible, because DLA, if granted, continues indefinitely. AA is still worth applying for, but the criteria are quite different.

Finally, I'm not sure I would believe a social worker if one told me that it was a fine day! I'd always prefer to make up my own mind, having done the appropriate research. I am a great believer in 'if you don't ask, you don't get'.

beverleyhills

Pre-paid funeral plans

seven-day-weekend

Errata wrote: »

Some over 65's may wish to take a job. A list of those companies who welcome over 65 employees - Asda, B&Q to name two - would be helpful.

Good idea, and connected with it a list of companies that give 'Benidorm leave', i.e. you can take up to three months unpaid leave to spend time abroad! I think Asda does this too.

(Yes it does, here's a link:
http://www.worldwidewords.org/turnsofphrase/tp-ben1.htm)