Retired on SP , PC and PiP. Bedroom tax - what now ?

Jeffoxon

I'm in social housing and have been since 2010.  Been paying Bed Tax since it was introduced  , but a month ago, i officially retired and i'm currently receiving State Pension, Pension Credit, and PiP.   I had read that retired single folk on benefits no longer have to pay the Bed Tax,  but despite weeks of searching Google, i have not found any info on who covers the tax if  i'm not paying.  I tried speaking to my social housing company and they simply said speak to your council.  I did that and the local council person told me to keep paying it, and they'll see if they can sort it out.   Does that mean that the local council will cover the Bed Tax,  or is it  just simply abolished ?   I've paid 4 weekly payments of  £18.36  so far since my retirement,  and cant help wondering what there is to sort out.  I've paid   over £70 already, when i shouldnt be,  i  wonder how much more i've got to pay out before someone figures out that retirees on benefits are not liable

NedS

It's a tax - no one pays it for you if you are not liable for it as there will be no tax to pay.

You are correct, as a pensioner you should not be liable for bedroom tax after you reached state pension age. You should stop paying it, and they should refund you any that you have paid since reaching state retirement age.  I assume you have been paying it to the local council?

Spoonie_Turtle

Jeffoxon said:

I'm in social housing and have been since 2010.  Been paying Bed Tax since it was introduced  , but a month ago, i officially retired and i'm currently receiving State Pension, Pension Credit, and PiP.   I had read that retired single folk on benefits no longer have to pay the Bed Tax,  but despite weeks of searching Google, i have not found any info on who covers the tax if  i'm not paying.  I tried speaking to my social housing company and they simply said speak to your council.  I did that and the local council person told me to keep paying it, and they'll see if they can sort it out.   Does that mean that the local council will cover the Bed Tax,  or is it  just simply abolished ?   I've paid 4 weekly payments of  £18.36  so far since my retirement,  and cant help wondering what there is to sort out.  I've paid   over £70 already, when i shouldnt be,  i  wonder how much more i've got to pay out before someone figures out that retirees on benefits are not liable

Presumably your help for rent is through Housing Benefit? Then the amount they pay should increase to cover your full rent. Housing Benefit is administered by your council.

calcotti

One you reach pension age you are not subject to the ‘bedroom tax’. This means no deduction for it would be made from the eligible rent taken into account to calculate your Housing Benefit. You do not mention Housing Benefit in the list of benefits you receive but I infer you are receiving it. Your local authority benefits team simply need to recalculate your Housing Benefit which should then cover your full rent. It is the benefits team you need to speak to. It may take a while for them to make the change.

On a separate point, if you live alone, get Daily Living PIP and no one gets Carer’s Allowance for looking after you you are entitled to a Severe Disability Addition in the calculation of your Pension Credit. Have you got that included?

Jeffoxon

NedS said:

It's a tax - no one pays it for you if you are not liable for it as there will be no tax to pay.

You are correct, as a pensioner you should not be liable for bedroom tax after you reached state pension age. You should stop paying it, and they should refund you any that you have paid since reaching state retirement age.  I assume you have been paying it to the local council?

Hi Ned,  i havent been paying it to the local council,  but direct to the social housing company who manage the properties.  There are no council owned properties here any more.  I'll  stop paying next week, as its due every Monday

Jeffoxon

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Presumably your help for rent is through Housing Benefit? Then the amount they pay should increase to cover your full rent. Housing Benefit is administered by your council.

Yes  Spoonie,   rent paid by the local council housing benefit to the social housing company. Surely after  7 years of this, they know how to deal with it, and that i shouldnt be paying.  Strange as its not a new tax

calcotti

Jeffoxon said:...Surely after  7 years of this, they know how to deal with it, and that i shouldnt be paying.  Strange as its not a new tax

Nonetheless when a claimant has a change of circumstances, which reaching pension age is, it takes time for benefit to be recalculated and updated,

Jeffoxon

calcotti said:

One you reach pension age you are not subject to the ‘bedroom tax’. This means no deduction for it would be made from the eligible rent taken into account to calculate your Housing Benefit. You do not mention Housing Benefit in the list of benefits you receive but I infer you are receiving it. Your local authority benefits team simply need to recalculate your Housing Benefit which should then cover your full rent. It is the benefits team you need to speak to. It may take a while for them to make the change.

On a separate point, if you live alone, get Daily Living PIP and no one gets Carer’s Allowance for looking after you you are entitled to a Severe Disability Addition in the calculation of your Pension Credit. Have you got that included?

Hi and yes i get housing benefit.  I'm not sure what the PiP is called, but i stated on the claim years ago that i didnt need a carers allowance, so i guess i may already get SDA.  The paperwork is buried somewhere  !!

Spoonie_Turtle

Jeffoxon said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Presumably your help for rent is through Housing Benefit? Then the amount they pay should increase to cover your full rent. Housing Benefit is administered by your council.

Yes  Spoonie,   rent paid by the local council housing benefit to the social housing company. Surely after  7 years of this, they know how to deal with it, and that i shouldnt be paying.  Strange as its not a new tax

calcotti said:

Jeffoxon said:...Surely after  7 years of this, they know how to deal with it, and that i shouldnt be paying.  Strange as its not a new tax

Nonetheless when a claimant has a change of circumstances, which reaching pension age is, it takes time for benefit to be recalculated and updated,

Yes, and councils seem to be a bit overwhelmed right now. It sounds like you were able to get in touch with them before, how long ago was that? If it was 4 weeks ago already it may be worth chasing them up.

poppy12345

Jeffoxon said:

calcotti said:

One you reach pension age you are not subject to the ‘bedroom tax’. This means no deduction for it would be made from the eligible rent taken into account to calculate your Housing Benefit. You do not mention Housing Benefit in the list of benefits you receive but I infer you are receiving it. Your local authority benefits team simply need to recalculate your Housing Benefit which should then cover your full rent. It is the benefits team you need to speak to. It may take a while for them to make the change.

On a separate point, if you live alone, get Daily Living PIP and no one gets Carer’s Allowance for looking after you you are entitled to a Severe Disability Addition in the calculation of your Pension Credit. Have you got that included?

Hi and yes i get housing benefit.  I'm not sure what the PiP is called, but i stated on the claim years ago that i didnt need a carers allowance, so i guess i may already get SDA.  The paperwork is buried somewhere  !!

It's not SDA, that's a totally different benefit. It's SDP ( severe disability premium) this benefit is paid on top of certain means tested benefits and it's not automatically paid. As you're now state pension age the SDP will be paid as part of pension credit.

calcotti

poppy12345 said:

Jeffoxon said: Hi and yes i get housing benefit.  I'm not sure what the PiP is called, but i stated on the claim years ago that i didnt need a carers allowance, so i guess i may already get SDA.  The paperwork is buried somewhere  !!

It's not SDA, that's a totally different benefit. It's SDP ( severe disability premium) this benefit is paid on top of certain means tested benefits and it's not automatically paid. As you're now state pension age the SDP will be paid as part of pension credit.

For Pension Credit it is known as the Severe Disability Addition - hence SDA (although i realise that could be confused with the long defunct Severe Disability Allowance which was, as you say, a different benefit).

OP, you need to check your Pension Credit award. You will not be paid the SDA unless Pension Credit are aware that you meet the qualifying conditions (but whether you do or not depends on which bits of PIP you are receiving). If you are getting the SDA then Pension Credit will be topping your weekly income up to £240.70/week, if you are not Pension Credit will be topping your income up to £173.75/week. These figures exclude the PIP.