over 80

poppasmurf_bewdley

meadowlane104 wrote: »

hi...ive checked my mother pension credit and it says assessed income period on it,also she has savings credit onit and also it says guarenteed credit,she had only approx 3,ooo savings at time,this is begining of this year,now savings are at approx 14,000 due to not drawing her pension reguarly and my dads insurance money,so am i right in thinking that her council tax benifit and the pension credit wont be affected? should i still tell them anyway? thank you..

You don't need to.

If she's on Guaranteed Pension Credit and has an Assessed Period, she is entitled to full HB and CT rebates. You can if you like inform the DWP of her savings but they will tell you that the increase will not matter.

If you do inform the DWP of any changes, they automatically notify the local council of any changes if the client is receiving HB and CT benefit.

All their computers are now working together.

Pollycat

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

You don't need to.

If she's on Guaranteed Pension Credit and has an Assessed Period, she is entitled to full HB and CT rebates. You can if you like inform the DWP of her savings but they will tell you that the increase will not matter.

If you do inform the DWP of any changes, they automatically notify the local council of any changes if the client is receiving HB and CT benefit.

All their computers are now working together.

Really?

All I can say to that is it's a pity (and a damn poor show) that my Mum's local council - Benefits, Council Tax and Housing don't 'work together'.

Mum recently wrote to the Benefits section advising them that my Dad had died, asking them to put the account in her name and authorising me to deal with the council on her behalf.

After getting a letter from the Housing dept addressed to both Mum & Dad (3 weeks after they'd had the letter and sight of the death certificate which was delivered to the council office by hand so I know it wasn't delayed in the post), it appears that we need to write to the Housing Dept, the Council Tax Dept and the Benefit Dept as none are joined up.

How easy would it have been for the recipient of the letter in Benefits to take 2 copies and pass them onto the other 2 Departments?

Appalling state of affairs in this day and age.

Sorry - off topic - rant over.

poppasmurf_bewdley

Pollycat wrote: »

Really?

All I can say to that is it's a pity (and a damn poor show) that my Mum's local council - Benefits, Council Tax and Housing don't 'work together'.

Mum recently wrote to the Benefits section advising them that my Dad had died, asking them to put the account in her name and authorising me to deal with the council on her behalf.

After getting a letter from the Housing dept addressed to both Mum & Dad (3 weeks after they'd had the letter and sight of the death certificate which was delivered to the council office by hand so I know it wasn't delayed in the post), it appears that we need to write to the Housing Dept, the Council Tax Dept and the Benefit Dept as none are joined up.

How easy would it have been for the recipient of the letter in Benefits to take 2 copies and pass them onto the other 2 Departments?

Appalling state of affairs in this day and age.

Sorry - off topic - rant over.

Firstly, sorry about your Dad.

Your comments would point to inept staff rather than a fault in the computer systems.

All I can say is that when my sister notified DWP recently about an increase in her savings after receiving her share of my late mothers estate, for Pension Credit purposes, she received a letter within two weeks from the local council saying there would be no change in her HB and CTB due to change in savings as she is on Guaranteed Pension Credit.

Her Pension Credit, however, was reduced by £30 per week.

Pollycat

Thanks.
I agree that the DWP and local councils are joined up - in fact when I did the claim for pension credit for my Mum after Dad went into a care home, the DWP passed all the information onto the local council.

Also, when Dad died and we informed DWP they also passed that information onto the council.

It's the 3 council departments, all located in the same building, who appear to need to be told separately about changes as their systems aren't joined up.

I had it from the lady in Housing (who was on the receiving end of my wrath as she was the one who signed the letter addressed to both Mum and Dad saying "Following your request to pay your rent by Direct Debit, here is your payment schedule") that their 3 systems aren't joined up.

The letter confused and distressed Mum, she was saying 'When did me and your Dad request that?'.

The reality is that Mum was in receipt of guarantee pension credit and therefore housing benefit & council tax benefit for the brief period that Dad was in a care home.

Prior to that, they were paying full rent and full council tax by Direct Debit.

All this letter meant is that they are reinstating the DD now Mum isn't entitled to CTB & HB.

They (my Dad and Mum) haven't bloody suddenly 'requested' to pay by DD at all. They'd been paying by DD for years.

Surely in cases like this, amending name details (especially when we've gone to the trouble to specifically request that they do so) is something that would (should!) be done very quickly to avoid any more distress.
Bereavement must be up there as one of the worst things that can happen.

Apologies for hi-jacking the thread.

athome

No problem re hijacking the thread-it all makes interesting reading and we can all learn more!
Mum is now waiting for a move into a bungalow and as far as finances are concerned everything is fine.

It's so lovely to be able to advice and support. :j