Pension Credit Problems

akarnold

I have been denied pension credit of £52.32 per week (which would bring up my income to the minimum income guarantee), for the last 10 weeks.
Although I have had no work and no income for this period I am classified by the Pension Service as employed because I am a director of my own limited company of which I am (or was), the only employee. The company has no money and large debts.
First there was a 4 week delay caused by their error, then a visit from an inspector who took all my details including my last year’s accounts, then a phone call asking for more details, then a letter asking for the last 3 years accounts and pay slips and details of where my money went last year.
I am under a debt management plan which is under severe strain due to being unemployed for the last 10 weeks and only receiving £79.18 per week state pension.
I have had to turn down a job because I did not have any money to travel to the job.
The Pension service refuses to tell me what the requirements are in case I "bend the rules".
What rights do I have to fight this abuse of power?
Has anyone else been subjected to “fishing expeditions”?
They must have spent ten times what they need to pay me. If ever there was an obvious target for cutting government spending, this is it.

Oldernotwiser

I think that, in a complicated situation like yours, investigations are always going to need to be thorough and to take some time.

Your debts aren't taken into account when making this decision.

tcr_3

The requirements being that they're satisfied your company has ceased trading and/or been wound up, that there's no company assets to realise, no further income coming your way and that you're doing no work.

Seems reasonable. It's a means tested benefit, after all.

What's unreasonable are delays once you've provided the information they ask for. That's down to pressure of work, unfortunately, lack of staff, the usual problems ... but it shouldn't be an excuse.

You'll obviously need to speak to the DMP people & explain the problems you're having, speak to the Pension Service too & find out what the hold up is, speak to a customer service manager, get your MP involved too if you wish.

akarnold

Thanks for your reply tcr.
My company has not ceased trading and hopefully will not be wound up as I hope to resume work soon and pay off what is owed in corporation tax.
Is this a loophole that the Pension Service can exploit to avoid paying me the minimum income guarantee?
There are no company assets at the moment, there has been none for ten weeks and I have had no other income for ten weeks.
In my mind that puts me in the position of being a 68 year old with only £78.18 per week to live on which is £53.32 less than everyone else. This is because I still usually work and pay taxes and to deny me what is called a guaranteed minimum income during a period when work has dried up, surely deprives me of my human rights.
I am in constant touch with the Pension service and am expecting either a decision or a request for more information. I will post their reply.

tcr_3

If you're still trading they'll have to determine what your employment income is. That means looking at your books, the income/expenditure, trying to figure out your profit (if any), whether it can be averaged out (or not) and how they'll try to attribute your income (i.e. trying to fit your income into straight weeks ... and what the income should be for each week, when it should start/change/finish).

I don't think you're being deprived of your human rights, in that sense, no, but it's not fair you're having to wait so long for a decision. They're not deliberately trying to do you out of entitlement, they're just gathering evidence, which will then be passed on to a decision maker.

All to often, though, the evidence people give them sometimes prompts them to ask for something else, it might answer one question but generate another ... so you'll need to call them to determine where they are in that process.

akarnold

tcr,
Thank you for your comments.
According to my Citizens advice Bureau common financial Statement, my monthly income averaged over the last several years is £1,919.40.
I realise that the Pension Service is working to a complex set of rules (which they will not disclose), and await their decision.
If I had been an employee earning £33,000 per annum which would give me an approximately equal take home pay, or even two or three times as much, I would, with no other assets, receive an extra £53.32 per week immediately.
This is not fair.
Presumably the minimum income guarantee amount is the minimum to avoid malnutrition and hypothermia, to stay in touch with the outside world via the TV, phone and internet, to receive minimum gas, electricity, water and sewage services and to purchase the odd bar of soap.
I am not receiving this amount.
There is no excuse for them treating me other than as an out of work person, if their rules are so discriminatory it is high time that they were changed.
I will call them again on Monday and see if they have made up their minds.
Thank you again.

tcr_3

The rules aren't secret. DWP publish them online. It's called the Decision Maker's Guide.

Here's a link directly to the Pension Credit earnings guidance ... it's a PDF file.

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/dmgch86.pdf

But, as my old Granny would say ... it's as thick as mince. Perhaps on reading that you'll understand quite why it's such a complicated area.

I'm sorry you feel hard done by. But at least you've got a glimmer of hope that the decision will be in your favour, eventually. There's plenty people, myself included, who have less in the pot each week than you. That's not to diminish how you're feeling ... just sayin', like

akarnold

Many thanks tcr,
I had a flick through it and tomorrow will print it out and go through it.
At first glance my thoughts are, there must be a simpler way. No wonder our country needs to borrow 160 billion a year just to keep going. Imagine the army of “civil servants” needed to prepare such a document, and then interpret it. And then there are their gold plated pensions. And that is just one document out of thousands.
Regarding your comment about the weekly pot, I am surprised as I thought that the minimum income guarantee of £132.50 per week was just that.
I apologise for being such a moaner and realise that there are many who would trade places with me any day. I do count my blessings, still being in reasonable health and with skills that are in demand.
This experience will hopefully make me wiser if not richer.
Thanks again,
Keith