Pension Credit - moving to sheltered accomm.

jamiea06

My relative is 79. She owns an upstairs flat and gets guaranteed pension credit. Her savings are below £10,000. She gets help with council tax. The pension credit letter mentions “assessed income period” but no expiry date so I guess she is indefinite as she’s over 75? From what I read this maybe means she won’t lose what she has?

Her health is deteriorating and she has been offered a council sheltered house. When she moves we will try to sell her flat (value maybe £50k).

1. Will she be entitled to existing support while flat is up for sale as she won’t have any money to pay social rent, full council tax and have less pension if pension credit is affected.

2. When the property sells she’ll have that money in the bank so will she then start paying full council tax, rent and have less pension until that capital is depleted?

We’re obviously extremely anxious but she definitely needs to move as she can’t get into or out of her flat very well as the stairs are steep and curved. She needs to sit down after a few mins of walking, A friend suggested applying for attendance allowance so we have filled those forms in too.

I’m so lost. I’ve tried to find out information online but I’m having no success. Any help is much appreciated.

lisyloo

I would suggest posting on the benefits board, you might get more help there.

2) when she has capital she’ll get less in benefits. Pension credit and council tax benefit are means tested so she may well lose those. Single people get a 25% discount on council tax anyway. Attendance allowance is not means tested so would not be affected by capital. She would still get her state pension as she’s earned that.

It’s great news that she has been offered something more suitable.

I’m sorry but I’m not sure what happens in the interim if the sheltered house is available immediately.

Alice_Holt

Re the "assessed income period"

This is from AgeUK

"8.1 Assessed income periods
Assessed Income Periods (AIP) have the effect of limiting the change of
circumstances that you need to report with respect to your PC claim. In
effect they set a period of time in which you do not need to report a
change in your capital or private pension....
...If you are over 75 it is likely that you have an indefinite AIP. The Pension
Service will not terminate these early. It will only be terminated when you
report a change of circumstances, for example, you go into a care home permanently
or you start living with a new partner."


I'm not sure that moving into sheltered social housing constitutes a change of circumstance that would terminate the assessed income period.

I'd give Age UK a ring.
https://www.ageuk.org.uk/services/age-uk-advice-line/

If it doesn't end the assessed income period then her pension credit would continue.

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/factsheets/fs48_pension_credit_fcs.pdf



You can always write to the DWP for clarification (she would need to notify the change of address), but it is useful to have an informed second opinion as some DWP decisions are incorrect.

jamiea06

Many thanks for your replies. I asked an admin to move me to the benefits topic - Many thanks for this suggestion and action.

I phoned Age UK but the woman said she wasn’t a benefits advisor so couldn’t shed much light but it was worth a try so thanks for this suggestion too.

I think I’ll just need to phone the pensions service and hope they can give us all the right info. Fingers crossed!

huckster

If the Council are arranging the sheltered housing, they should provide a form to claim the rent costs for this. The Council may also be able to point you in the right direction in regard to DWP benefit issues. I suspect that the situation is not unique and there may be information readily available which sets out the entitlements.

bigbill

1. Will she be entitled to existing support while flat is up for sale as she won’t have any money to pay social rent, full council tax and have less pension if pension credit is affected.

Yes value 100% ignored while up for sale.

2. When the property sells she’ll have that money in the bank so will she then start paying full council tax, rent and have less pension until that capital is depleted?

If her AIP continues which it should if indefinate she is sorted full rent and council tax will continue with no chnages to her pension credit either.

If she gets AA her Pension credit should also go up by £66 weekly.