widow's pension

margaretjohns

margaretclare - I will ask her about SERPS.

It is quite sad but her husband just did eveything.

I do all our financials so if I pop off you may get my hubby on here as he has never paid a bill in 40 years!

margaretclare

margaretjohns wrote: »

thanks Iris - not eligible for AA - not ill enough!

Dunroamin - I don't think I could manage on £145. a week! maybe possible with no car or going out anywhere but I reckon that would be a sad existance. Most expenses are the same for 1 as it is for 2 - heating, water, tv licence etc.

I feel very sorry for her and unfortunately she has no family either.

Yes, I agree. DH and I do quite well - we're not rich but a very long way from being poor - but only because we each have our own pensions income independently of each other. When/if one of us dies the survivor will be able to inherit the other's SERPS, but otherwise, the house still has to be kept warm etc and we've reached an age and disability when we need help with certain things i.e. gardening! I was told many years ago that the worst thing you can do is allow the garden, especially front garden, to become a wilderness, because this screams to any local opportunist criminal that 'here lives an elderly/disabled/incapable person who is fair game'.

Was the lady's late husband's private pension from work? If so, he'd have been opted-out and therefore not eligible for SERPS. DH was never opted-out into a work/private pension scheme and so the SERPS that he gets is almost as much as his basic SRP, the £110.15 mentioned earlier. It's worth finding out the actual details of his income and exactly where it came from.

Don't forget that, as has been said, if she owns her own property she won't be paying a mortgage, and this is a big part of many people's outgoings. Also the council tax benefit, now called something different - a phone call to the local Town Hall/Civic Centre will help. In any case she would get 25% off the council tax as sole occupant, but it's likely that she won't have to pay council tax at all. This again is a big outgoing - ours is £110 a month for a 2-bed bungalow.

iris

If she has no family, there is always Equity Release.

Mojisola

Rather than trying to cope with all the different benefits, contact AgeUK and ask for a benefit assessment.

margaretclare

margaretjohns wrote: »

margaretclare - I will ask her about SERPS.

It is quite sad but her husband just did eveything.

I do all our financials so if I pop off you may get my hubby on here as he has never paid a bill in 40 years!

Maybe you should sit down with him and at least make sure he knows who gets paid/when, where the relevant paperwork is etc. Or at least leave a list and everything in order. None of us knows what may happen - I'm serious, I've seen this.

I once saw a very distressing instance of this of a lady who came into CAB. Following that, I went home to DH and insisted that we open a joint account for all bills - he'd been resistant up to then because of bad experiences in an earlier marriage. Everything gets paid in, and goes out again, electronically like clockwork. I couldn't live any other way, not now, seen too much of what can happen.

margaretclare

iris wrote: »

If she has no family, there is always Equity Release.

This would affect any benefits she's able to claim.

iris

margaretjohns wrote: »

Dunroamin - I don't think I could manage on £145. a week! maybe possible with no car or going out anywhere but I reckon that would be a sad existance. Most expenses are the same for 1 as it is for 2 - heating, water, tv licence etc.

I feel very sorry for her and unfortunately she has no family either.

I have just done some quick calculations on receiving Pension Credit at £145 per week and I think it is easily doable. I have used the following in my calculations (monthly)

(No council tax if on Pension Credit)
£75 Food/toiletries
£90 gas/electric
£16 house insurance
£12 Telephone
£15 Hair
£15 car insurance
£20 car service/mot
£20 petrol
£25 water (metered)
£12.12 TV (free at 75)
£50 emergency fund
£10 clothes

Total £360.12

Pension Credit £628

Amount left £267.88

margaretjohns

margaretclare wrote: »

Maybe you should sit down with him and at least make sure he knows who gets paid/when, where the relevant paperwork is etc. Or at least leave a list and everything in order. None of us knows what may happen - I'm serious, I've seen this.

We've always had joint account and my paperwork is very clear so hopefully he should be ok really.:j

margaretjohns

Wow Iris! I think I must be very wasteful then as I am sure I couldn't manage. Food and toiletries, cleaning items all for £75 per month. To me that's worrying about the quality of food pensioners are eating

brewerdave

Iris, think your figs. are way out - £20 pm for petrol ? Thats considerably less than 2000 miles per year in most cars.
Car insurance £180 per year ? Not unless you are driving an old and very small car for extremely low mileages with the car garaged in a very safe post code!!What about road tax??
Don't think anyone can run a car and survive on £145 per week..--and as for food /toiletries ~£18 per week ?? No chance!!