Repayment of benefit by Father with Dementia from where ?

learnerlawyer

Please can someone give me some advice as I'm at my wits end.

My DF is now in a care home with dementia however he doesn't qualify for NHS care and therefore we have to pay towards his fees - his and DM savings are only £8000

Initially we were advised that his small private pension of £106 per week would be taken towards care home fees along wih his state pension. We then found out he hadn't claimed a state pension but he was recieving pension credit out of which he was repaying £30 per week for an overpayment of disability benefits from 2008.

We have now been told after applying and being granted a state pension that as he will no longer be entitled to pension credit my Mum will have to repay the £30 per week.

Mum only gets £146 per week as all the other money the council want to take towards my Dads care home fees.

This really is a nightmare - she has never had her own money or even thought about it and is struggling as it is to accept their situation.

Does anyone no if we can reduce the amount we pay towards care home fees by the £30 per week that we need to repay to the DWP ? Or does my mum have to just manage ?

Many Thanks

Torry_Quine

I think you meed to get some advice on this. The CAB is a good place to start.

helpfulperson

I agree with Torry. Your mother shouldn't have to take over the overpayment that your father was paying. The money should now be deducted from his State Pension and so reduce the amount he pays for his care.

You should also check if your mother is entitled to Pension Credit. Now her husband is in a care home they are no longer treated as a couple for the PC calculation.

Finally, you should challenge the decision that he is not entitled to NHS funding (see http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/news/whats_new_jul12_claiming_back_wrongly_charged_care_costs.htm)

The CAB will help you with all of this.

xylophone

Did he receive any arrears of state pension that were due to him?
http://www.ageuk.org.uk/home-and-care/care-homes/paying-for-care-if-you-have-a-partner/

learnerlawyer

Thankyou everyone for your advice,

Torry I hadn't realised CAB could help with benefits

Helpful - Mum has been awarded Pension credit of £140 per week in her own right which is not much but should just about allow her to stay in the family home, thanks for the appeal link I shall take a look at that

Xylophone - they have backdated it for 5 months although he was entitled to claim it almost 3 years ago:(

benefitbaby

You could ask the DWP to waive recovery of the overpayments on the basis that your DF's income is being used to fund his home costs and as a result the recovery of the overpayment is causing extreme financial hardship.

If the DWP is now recovering the overpayment (which DWP can do if the PC was jointly claimed) from your DM then you could run the same hardship argument but I would strongly advise asking CAB to help with this.

PasturesNew

When you're in a care home and having fees paid, as I understood it they take all your pensions/income, except £22/week, so your dad should have £22/week for himself. This is used by care home residents to pay for haircuts, little outings, new slippers and even Werthers' Originals