pension credits

shymanuk

hi if in receipt of pension credits, but dont have savings of more than £10,000 after taking 25% of pension fund at r/age (25%money taken to pay debts off) is this exceptable ? also i assume from this that the small pension fund i recieve each month will be deducted from the pension credit benifits i recieve .any help would be great .

hugheskevi

hi if in receipt of pension credits, but dont have savings of more than £10,000 after taking 25% of pension fund at r/age (25%money taken to pay debts off) is this exceptable ?

It doesn't matter what the source of funds are, the first £10,000 of capital you have will be disregarded in the Pension Credit calculation. So if the lump sum payment would not take you above £10,000 of assets there is no issue.

If the payment would take you above £10,000 but you subsequently reduce capital to below £10,000 by paying debts, that should still be fine. Payment of debts wouldn't normally be considered to be deprivation of assets so should be fine. If in any doubt (eg they were debts to a family member so could be considered a grey area, check with Pension Credit people first).

also i assume from this that the small pension fund i recieve each month will be deducted from the pension credit benifits i recieve .any help would be great .

It isn't so much that it will be deducted, rather, that it will be brought to account as income when you claim and the amount of Pension Credit to which you are entitled calcualted accordingly. If your income is below about £100 then it would effectively be deducted, but if more than that there is less than a 100% deduction rate (assuming age 65 or older).

If you haven't already claimed Pension Credit, then all you need to do is declare the income on the claim when you make it. If you are already receiving Pension Credits and have just started to receive the pension fund income, then report the change of circumstances to DWP (preferably in writing, and getting a proof of postage and retaining all correspondence sent to you by DWP, just in case of any future difficulties).

sleepless_saver

There is no upper capital limit for pension credit. Whether you are entitled depends on your total income including assumed income from capital.

Have a look at the pension credit estimate link here (though it's probably simpler just to phone the Pension Service 0800 99 1234 and let them work it out for you).