64 years old - benefits entitlement

glynm15

Hi,

Advice needed for my father. He is 64 years old and is off work with a stress related illness.

He has been off for nearly 25 weeks now. He has received full pay for the majority of this time (Occupational sick pay) but last month received SSP. This will obviously be due to end this month. His employer haven't provided any info as to what happens next.

He was signed off until the end of December and will not be returning to work. He has worked there for 43 years and new ownership has meant a lot of changes, which he hasn't dealt with well.

When he is 65 he will be financially fine - state / private pension. It's just the 8 months or so till then he could do with financial help / receive anything he is entitled to.

So is it ESA or pension credit and what does he need / work need to do for him to claim. If he says he is not going back - will he lose any entitlements.

Any advice / points in the right direction would be appreciated.

G

pmlindyloo

I will try to answer some of your questions.

First of all I would think that it is necessary for your dad to talk to work and make some definite decisions about what is going to happen.

What has happened so far about your dad being off for such a long time? Has work suggested anything? Change of hours/working conditions? (You might want to post on the Employent forum for further help)

Now to the benefits questions. Your dad has reached what is called State Pension age (when he is entitled to Pension credit, not to do with when he receives his state pension)

My reading suggests that he can not claim ESA because he has reached State Pension age. Therefore he could apply for Pension Credit.

This is means tested. (depends on household income and savings) If he gets even a small amount of guarantee Pension Credit then this would make him eligible for HB/Housing costs and CTB.

When he receives his state pension and private pension he will have to notify Pension Credit as both of these pensions are regarded as income.

He might also have a claim for working tax credits all the time he is 'employed' and receiving sickness benefits as his annual income would have been reduced.

You could put his details into the benefit calculator on www.entitledto.com for an idea of his entitlements.

glynm15

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

Work have been reasonably helpful, suggested part time / change of role etc. The Doc provided a 3 month sick note and when we produced this 6 weeks ago - I effectively said that he won't be returning can the sort out what's necessary.

Not heard from them since, rang for an update yesterday, without much joy.

I just didn't want my dad losing any entitlements for the next 8 months if he doesn't do the right thing. I.e process of leaving work etc.

Also didn't know which one trumped the other Pension credit or ESA, so thanks for replying.

Bigmoney2

Has he/you looked at taking his company pension now.

If he has been there 43 yrs I would think he will have near on full pensionable service anyway. It may be reduced for going before 65yrs (assuming thats the scheme retirement age) but he is so close that any reduction is likely to be minimal. (I've assumed a final salary DB scheme, which may not be the case. However if he needs to buy an annuity, look at ill health annuities).

He will also not pay NI or pension contributions on pension income so may find he is not much worse off.

I would be wary of saying he is not going back, as while he is signed off he is still an employee and accruing pensionable service even if he is receiving no pay. So probably best to just keep the sick notes going in.

I would imagine HR or OH would want to follow up at some stage to establish a return date (or not), but he should not resign, let them finish him on grounds of incapability or retire him.

With regard to SSP stopping I believe that DWP will write to say that its stopping and to go in to claim ESA (used to be IB).
However because of your fathers age I think he would be eligable for pension credit instead.

zzzLazyDaisy

Bigmoney2 wrote: »

with regard to SSP stopping I believe that DWP will write to say that its stopping and to go in to claim ESA (used to be IB).

No, this is not correct. The DWP won't even know he is on SSP, as this is paid by the employer.

What should happen is that one month before SSP is due to expire, the employer should provide the employee with Form SSP1 which you send to DWP and this starts the ESA claim. But often the employer doesn't realise they are required to do this, so it may be necessary to write to them pointing out that you have not yet received Form SSP1 and ask for it to be sent immediately.

It is probably better to claim ESA immediately as that is seamless when moving from SSP, although there will still be the forms ESA50 form and (probably) assessment to deal with. But the point is he will get some money immediately and his NI paid.

At the same time, he should make a claim for pension credit - my recent experience helping someone to claim Pension credit is that it can take weeks - almost 6 months in my friends case. In the end it was all paid and back dated (and ESA deducted from the back pay) but at least he was not left with no income while it was sorted out. Once PC is awarded, the ESA claim can be cancelled and the PC will be adjusted accordingly.

Hope this helps

Dx

paddedjohn

Just to add to the advice above, your father is still accruing holidays whilst on sick leave so he may be able to get some holiday pay off his company, if he doesn't take any it will be carried over untill he either returns to work or leaves.

Bigmoney2

Originally Posted by Bigmoney2
with regard to SSP stopping I believe that DWP will write to say that its stopping and to go in to claim ESA (used to be IB).

No, this is not correct. The DWP won't even know he is on SSP, as this is paid by the employer.



Sorry for incorrect info, I was going from the experience of colleagues a few years ago, their letters must have been from the company.

epitome

Does he have a partner?

He can claim ESA when his SSP stops, he can receive ESA until he reaches the male state pension age.

However if he has no partner, he would probably be better off claiming Pension Credit instead.

glynm15

Hi,

Thanks for the replies.

Cleared a few things up.

Will look into ESA / Pension Cred / Holiday Pay.

Thanks once again.