Is there a Pension Credit backlog?

whizzywoo

Hello everyone, I am new to the forum and this is my first post.

I turned 65 in January this year and became eligible for State Pension on the 6th May 2019. My husband is 61 years old and is disabled. I am his Carer. We own our home.

I applied for Pension Credit a month in advance (8th April) and received a visit from a lady from the DWP two weeks later. She needed to take details of my self-employment which ceased on the 30th April 2019. She filled in a long form and took copies of bank statements etc, details of my husband's small private pension.

Our savings added up to approx £6,000 plus the value of my stock and business assets were approx £500, which she said was well below the Pension Credit threshold for savings affecting the benefit. She said she had everything the Pension Credit people had asked her to get and the posted me a copy of the form a couple of days later.

It is now four months since my telephone claim and I have heard nothing further. Is this normal? It seems a very long time for them to process my claim. I have telephoned the Pension Credit Helpline 4 times now over the past 2 months and been told that my claim is awaiting process and that someone will contact me in 10 working days. So I wait the two weeks and there is no contact and I ring again .... and the same thing happens.

I don't know if my case is unusually complicated or if this sort of delay normal?

My husband receives the Std Care and Mobility rate of PIP. He does not receive any ESA anymore. Previously we received Working Tax Credits. I was working 18 hours per week self employed but had to reduce this to 10 hours, and then finished altogether, as I am not well myself and couldn't keep the business going and continue to look after my husband. Our Working Tax Credit claim ceased on the 14th April 2019.

I also used to receive the maximum Industrial Injuries Reduced Earnings Allowance but this has now been reduced to £17.90 per week because I am no longer working. I've no long receive the Carer's Allowance since becoming eligible for State Pension. My husband has a small private pension of less than £20 per week.

According to the Pension Credit Calculator I should be eligible for approx £86 per week plus no Council Tax to pay. We are now struggling to make ends meet and regularly dipping into our savings. Our weekly income has dropped by over £100.

Does everyone have to wait this long for Pension Credit? I realise there will be people much worse off than we are but I shouldn't have to use my husband's PIP money to pay bills etc. We both need new prescriptions for glasses, and there is other stuff I need to get for him.

Just wanted to compare notes really on waiting times for Pension Credit. Am I being impatient?

Thank you.

p00hsticks

No personal experience of Pension Credit, but I know the Pension Credit rules for mixed aged couples such as yourself changed in mid-May this year and the changes got quite a lot of publicity, as did the suggestion that only those over-75s claiming PC woud get free TV licences going forward, so between those two I suspect they may have had considerably more than the usual rate of applications

calcotti

p00hsticks wrote: »

No personal experience of Pension Credit, but I know the Pension Credit rules for mixed aged couples such as yourself changed in mid-May this year and the changes got quite a lot of publicity, as did the suggestion that only those over-75s claiming PC woud get free TV licences going forward, so between those two I suspect they may have had considerably more than the usual rate of applications

OP reached State Pension age before 15th May 2019 so is not affected by new rules for mixed aged couples given that they have already made the claim.

p00hsticks

calcotti wrote: »

OP reached State Pension age before 15th May 2019 so is not affected by new rules for mixed aged couples.

I realise that - but I'm sure I read (on this site or elsewhere) that the publicity surrounding the change led to a lot of mixed-age couples putting in claims immediately prior to that date, so it could have caused a backlog that the OP's claim has been caught up in.

calcotti

OP, based on what you have posted I estimate Pension Credit should top your State Pension up to a combined total of about £255/week. You are correct that if you get Pension Credit you will be entitled to full Council Tax Reduction (CTR).

Have you already applied for CTR?

As to waiting times for Pension Credit I am unable to offer any information on this but this does seem a ridiculous amount of time. I suggest you give them one more call and if you get nowhere try contacting your MP and ask her/him to contact the DWP on your behalf.

calcotti

p00hsticks wrote: »

I realise that - but I'm sure I read (on this site or elsewhere) that the publicity surrounding the change led to a lot of mixed-age couples putting in claims immediately prior to that date, so it could have caused a backlog that the OP's claim has been caught up in.

That would make sense.

calcotti

Interesting to see target decision periods https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Benefit-guides/Beginner-s-Guide-to-Benefits/How-long-does-it-take-to-process-a-claim
In 2015/16, the target for Pension Credit was 10-14 working days!!

In my experience of Pension Credit I have known claims decided instantly when claimed by phone but obviously it depends on complexity.

Alice_Holt

One possible option would be this:
https://cpag.org.uk/welfare-rights/judicial-review/judicial-review-pre-action-letters

The Delay in Making a Decision letters.
There isn't a specific letter for PC delays - but the UC letter could be amended to cover PC.
Grounds would be - Unlawful delay in deciding a claim

The great advantage of this approach is that the DWP legal team has to respond in 14 days.

Perhaps your local advice agency / CAB could help you amend a proforma to fit PC and your circumstances.
If it is a common issue, the agency may wish to use this for other cases as well. They may wish to contact CPAG with their proforma, and CPAG may be able to put a specific pro-forma on their website for PC delays.
A 4 month delay is unacceptable, particularly when your ESA / TC's have stopped.

Do put in an application for CTr now,

whizzywoo

Many thanks everyone for your very quick replies. Much appreciated.

p00hsticks - I was aware of the Mixed Age Rules coming into force and we just scrape in by about 9 days but thank you for saying! I applied before the info about TV licences was in the News so hopefully I got in the queue before it got too busy. No doubt it is busier though because of the rules.

calcotti - Thank you for the info - according to my calculations our income should be topped up to £255 per week plus a Carer's Premium of £36 per week, as I have an underlying entitlement to Carer's Allowance for looking after my husband.

I didn't apply for a Council Tax Reduction until one month ago. I was waiting for the Pension Credit decision but I became worried when it was taking so long. So I applied for CTR and asked for it to be backdated.

I have been thinking this week about contacting my MP, so that is maybe a route I shall take.
I helped my Stepfather make a Pension Credit claim 2 years ago, after my Mum died. His claim was decided over the phone almost instantly but his only income was a low State Pension. I did see the info on the turn2us org website about the processing times in 2015/16 - things must have gone downhill since then!

Alice Holt - thank you very much for the link to cpag. This is not something I had come across before now. I shall be having a look at their pro-forma letter for Delays in Decision Making and will see if I can make it fit to my Pension Credit claim. I will also get in touch with them.

Many thanks again for all your help. I shall update the thread with any developments.

calcotti

whizzywoo wrote: »

calcotti - Thank you for the info - according to my calculations our income should be topped up to £255 per week plus a Carer's Premium of £36 per week, as I have an underlying entitlement to Carer's Allowance for looking after my husband.

You are right Pension Credit will top your total income to £255.25 plus £36.85 = £292.10. I then took off your IIREA of £17.90 and your husband's pension of approx £20 to arrive at a figure of about £255 for you pension and Pension Credit combined amount.

whizzywoo

calcotti - thank you. I see what you mean now. I get the full state pension of £168.60 per week so that would be topped up to £255 which would match what the Pension credit calculator said.

I must learn how to quote from previous comments - such a useful thing so people know what is being referred to.