Savings, Guarantee Pension Credit, Housing Benefit & Council Tax Benefit

Pollycat

Whew!
That title is a mouthfull.

My Dad died very recently, after a short stay in a residential care home.

As Mum was on a low income she qualified for Guarantee Pension Credit after he moved into the care home.
She also got Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit even though her half of their joint savings was over £16,000.

As she's over 75, DWP have given her an assessed income period without an end date for her Pension Credit.
This means that she does not have to tell them if there is a change in her savings or pensions.
So she will continue to receive the Guarantee Pension Credit - I think.

I know that I need to tell the local council about the change in her savings (obviously they've doubled) and the widow's pension she will receive from Dad's occupational pension and I'll do that as soon as we've been to the Building Society (next week).

I'm assuming that as she will continue to receive Guarantee Pension Credit she will still be entitled to CTB & HB, even though her savings are over the £16,00 limit.
Am I right?

This is what Directgov website says about entitlement to Housing Benefit:
Who isn't eligible


You can't usually get Housing Benefit if:

• you have savings of over £16,000, unless you are getting the 'guarantee credit' of Pension Credit
• you live in the home of a close relative
• you're a full-time student (unless you're disabled or have children)
• you're an asylum seeker or are sponsored to be in the UK

I guess I'll know the answer to this pretty soon but just wondered what anybody else thought.

Thanks

real1314

If you get PC Guarantee Credit, you get full HB and CTB. Just as it says.

However, I'm not too sure that being widowed is not a notifiable change for Pension Credit (as opposed to the changes to income / capital).

If you don't notify them, and it is a notifiable change, your mum could end up with problems.

The simple thing to do is to write in with the details of the changes, and included a comment that you believe that this will not affect the claim, but request confirmation of this.

Keep a copy of your letter, and a copy of the reply. Then your mum is covered. :cool:

Pollycat

Hi, thanks for the information about CTB & HB - that's really good news.
That's what I thought but you never can be sure.

I rang DWP to notify them of my Dad's death the day after he died.

I'm pretty sure that they took me through Mum's details too.

I do remember one person at DWP telling me that Mum's state pension would probably increase as she'd get part of Dad's so I think they must be aware.

When we registered the death, the Registrar gave me a form BD8 to complete with Dad's details and it also asked for details of Mum's name, DoB & NI number.

When I rang DWP to notify them of Dad's death, I mentioned this form and the woman said we'd gone through everything over the phone and there was no need to complete it so surely they've made the connection between Mum & Dad....

I have had written notification from DWP that there are no outstanding amounts due in respect of Dad's Pension Credit and Pension.

Mum's pension amount hasn't changed so far, it's due this Monday.

Or should I adpot a 'belt and braces' approach and ring them again specifically about Mum?

Pollycat

Just checked the leaflet DWP sent Mum with her pension credit notification.

It says you must tell them if 'someone living in your house dies'.

So that doesn't apply as Dad was a permanent resident in a care home and DWP are aware of that as it was that change in circumstances that triggered the claim for pension credit, CTB & HB.

Or am I still better advising them?

dseventy

Pollycat wrote: »

Or am I still better advising them?

Yes.

D70

Pollycat

Apparently Mum has had 3 letters from DWP (she won't open them until I'm there) so I'll see what they say when I pop up on Monday.

I'm 100% sure that they are aware of Mum's change of circumstances but I might just ring again, depending what the letters say.

If it's a notification that her state pension has gone up then they must be aware.

Whiteknight

It can sometimes take a few weeks for the State Pension for your mother to be increased, this increase could effect the amount and type of Pension Credit paid - I have seen women go from an entitlement to Guarantee Pension to either Savings Credit only or nothing at all due to the inherited State Pension amount.

Pollycat

Whiteknight wrote: »

It can sometimes take a few weeks for the State Pension for your mother to be increased, this increase could effect the amount and type of Pension Credit paid - I have seen women go from an entitlement to Guarantee Pension to either Savings Credit only or nothing at all due to the inherited State Pension amount.

But Mum has an assessed income period (without an end date as she is over 75) so from what I've read in the Pension Credit leaflet, any increase in pensions or savings will not affect her entitlement to Guarantee Pension Credit.

It clearly says that if you have an assessed income period, you don't have to tell them about changes in:

• Savings & investments
• Personal or work-related pensions
• Income from annuities

So I took that to mean that any increase in savings or pensions would not affect the Guarantee Pension Credit she gets.

Or have I got that wrong?
Whiteknight - can you please clarify that for me.
Thanks

About 6 years ago Mum & Dad moved into council-owned, warden controlled senior people's accommodation and put their house up for sale (old terrace).

They were in receipt of Savings Pensions Credit at the time and the day they received the money from the house sale, I phoned up DWP to report the change in circumstances.

A few months later, I noticed they were still paying Savings PC so rang up again and the guy said that as they had an assessed period, any change in their savings did not affect their entitlement to Savings PC.
He actually said 'even if they win the lottery they will still get Pension Credit until the end of the assessed income period'.

real1314

It's very simple:-

If you tell them and it doesn't affect it, nothing changes.
If you don't tell them and it doesn't affect it, nothing changes.
If you don't tell them and it DOES affect it, it's fraud.
If you do tell them and it does affect it, she get's the correct amount.

You have a choice to make.

The change that has happened is not just about money or savings. It also involves a change to marital status. She's not married, she's now a widow. You can't simply isolate aspects of a change and use the rules that apply just to that aspect. :cool:

Pollycat

real1314
I appreciate all that you say but DWP were aware that Dad had moved permanently into a care home.

They did a dis-association of income and reassessed the joint pension credit that Dad was receiving in his name into one for him and one for Mum.

I have informed DWP that Dad has died and I have given them Mum's details too as part of that conversation.

So they are aware that she's no longer married but a widow instead.

I think in your post #2 you assumed that I haven't advised DWP of the change in circumstances (i.e. Dad's death) - but I have.

real1314 wrote: »

However, I'm not too sure that being widowed is not a notifiable change for Pension Credit (as opposed to the changes to income / capital).

If you don't notify them, and it is a notifiable change, your mum could end up with problems.

Although I said in my post #3 that I 'think they must be aware', in reality I'm 100% sure that they are aware.

I'm not trying to get out of notifying them that Mum is now a widower.
They know.
They have written to me confirming that Dad is not due any arrears but there may be an overpayment which would have to be paid back.

I think this 'DWP need to be told' is muddying the waters on my original question which was:

Pollycat wrote: »

I'm assuming that as she will continue to receive Guarantee Pension Credit she will still be entitled to CTB & HB, even though her savings are over the £16,00 limit.
Am I right?

However, Whiteknight has posted this which now has me worried that any increase in her state pension may result in her losing guarantee pension credit and therefore CTB & HB (which I'm hoping she will still get).

Whiteknight wrote: »

It can sometimes take a few weeks for the State Pension for your mother to be increased, this increase could effect the amount and type of Pension Credit paid - I have seen women go from an entitlement to Guarantee Pension to either Savings Credit only or nothing at all due to the inherited State Pension amount.

anmarj

Pollycat, your mum's increase to her State Pension will affect the Pension Credit that she is paid, Whiteknigit is correct, State Pension is not a pension but a state benefit so therefore the AIP does not apply to benefit increases, however, if your mum savings or she inherited an works/private pension then that will not effect the Pension Credit as that was set before your father died. Once the new rate of State Pension has been decided upon, the team will do a internal recovery and then reassess the Pension Credit with the new rate of State Pension, which could kick her off the Guaranteed Credit and put her onto the Savings Credit only.

As one family asked me, "could they not adjust her SP so that she still got the Guaranteed Credit", the answer is no.

you might find this helpful in working out if the increase could be quite a bit, her basic would rise to the full £102.15 (that would be the minium)

here is a table for the additional pension as it changes according to age and birth

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Pensionsandretirementplanning/StatePension/DG_183780

she may still get HB and CT on Savings Credit only but would depend on what capital and other income she had (not sure if they would disregard any inherited occ pens or not, if PC are ignoring it)