pension Credit and separation

spinner1234

on behalf of mum and dad; mum is already retired, getting basic state pension. Dad is nearing retirement age, but will not have enough contributions for full state pension and will have to claim
pension credit. They no longer want to live together and wish to separate, though not divorce.
Will dad's claim for pension credit be affected by , or affect, mum's income? How long must they have lived apart so his application will be assessed entirely on his own circumstances? Would mum's savings (if any) affect dad's application?
Any help here is MUCH appreciated.

WillowCat

Once they have separated and he has moved out then providing they expect the separation to be permanent then he can claim on his own immediately. Her assets and income won't be taken into consideration at all.

It is even possible to claim separately if they are separated but still living together but in that case they would be under a lot of scrutiny as to whether they really are separated.

xylophone

What if the couple own their property? Would they be expected to sell it?

Whiteknight

xylophone wrote: »

What if the couple own their property? Would they be expected to sell it?

They would be expected to take action to release their interest in the property

[Deleted User]

spinner1234 wrote: »

on behalf of mum and dad; mum is already retired, getting basic state pension. Dad is nearing retirement age, but will not have enough contributions for full state pension and will have to claim
pension credit. They no longer want to live together and wish to separate, though not divorce.
Will dad's claim for pension credit be affected by , or affect, mum's income? How long must they have lived apart so his application will be assessed entirely on his own circumstances? Would mum's savings (if any) affect dad's application?
Any help here is MUCH appreciated.

I would imagine that they would need to go through a legal separation,your dad will need only 35 years NI cont for a full pension, in any case surely he will qualify for the new universal pension (or part of it) which from April will be £174 a week.

Not_a_clue

It used to be that if the couple were separated but not estranged that the non residents interest in the property was deemed to be valued as zero. This would seem to fit your parents circumstances. They were not expected to sell the property. Rules may have moved on though so you should check this out.

No need for a legal separation. There may be other arguments for or against this, but bear in mind any impact on possible spousal pensions of this after the first death.

Not_a_clue

See The State Pension Credit Regulations 2002, assuming these have not been amended/superceded
Para 4b is the relevant bit:

SCHEDULE V
INCOME FROM CAPITAL

PART I
Capital disregarded for the purpose of calculating income


4. Any premises occupied in whole or in part—

(a)by a partner or close relative of a single claimant as his home where that person is either aged 60 or over or incapacitated;
(b)by the former partner of the claimant as his home; but this provision shall not apply where the former partner is a person from whom the claimant is estranged or divorced.

I.e. the property should be disregarded where they are not estranged or divorced. So a 'friendly' separation should be ok. Where it says 'his' read this as his or her.