Do not qualify for Pension Credits

whizzywoo

Jay_1987

He was born 6th February 1954, so turned 66 on that date. He did not receive his first state pension payment until July.

Don’t know why my phone keeps changing date to 3rd, sorry.

Aha ...  that's a whole different kettle of fish then.  He was one day late being born!  Had he be born the day before he would have got his SRP and been able to make a Pension Credit claim 3 months earlier.

I was born on the 12th Jan 1954.  Had I been born a week earlier my SRP would have kicked in three months earlier than the 6th of May 2019.  I blamed my Mum - told her she should have got a move on!

Unfortunately there are lots of Mixed Age Couples now in the same position as your parents.  Have you actually tried one of the Benefit Calculators to see if your parents would get anything on Universal Credit.  https://benefits-calculator.turn2us.org.uk/AboutYou

Also does your Mum get the Care Component of PIP or DLA?  If your Dad cares for her then this may make it more likely for them to qualify for Universal Credit.

Pollycat

Jay_1987 said:

I assume nothing can be done then. I will look in to contacting a local MP regarding the issue. I understand he is not alone in this situation, and thank you very much for taking the time to reply to me.

This is the relevant bit from GOV.UK:

Eligibility

You must live in England, Scotland or Wales and have reached State Pension age to qualify for Pension Credit.

If you’re in a couple you can start getting Pension Credit if either:

• you and your partner have both reached State Pension age
• one of you is getting Housing Benefit for people over State Pension age

https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit/eligibility

And this explains it:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/changes-to-benefits-for-mixed-age-couples

In 2012, Parliament voted to modernise the system and change the rule for couples so that the transition takes place when the younger partner reaches State Pension age. This will ensure the younger partner is in the same circumstances as other people of the same age, regardless of the age of their partner.

The government announced today that the change will be introduced from 15 May 2019.

So your parents can't claim pension credit until your Mum reaches state pension age (currently age 66).

But as another poster has suggested, maybe investigate other benefits that they may be eligible for.

Jay_1987 said:

My dad done bar work, and then worked on building sites. Unfortunately from his earlier years working he paid NI but when I went on to government website to check how many years he qualified for a few of the earlier companies did not pay the NI and are now defunct, dead and gone. 

I guess maybe he did some work that was cash in hand.

xylophone

Also does your Mum get the Care Component of PIP or DLA?  If your Dad cares for her then this may make it more likely for them to qualify for Universal Credit.

The OP mentions that her mother is in receipt of ESA as well as her occupational pension.
https://www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance/what-youll-get

Lamoore22253

Please can I run this by you.
I am a 67 year old divorced woman and when I checked on the online calculator to find out how much sp I was entitled to it said £134. No way could I manage on that amount. I had no savings but I was in the process of buying my house. I had 2 very small private pensions as I couldnt afford to pay a mortgage and pay bills and extra pension payments. I knew nothing about your pension being topped up with other benefits as I had only ever claimed child allowance. I decided to take some of my private pension money to pay off my mortgage and carry on working and defer my sp. 
I started claiming my state pension in 2018 and got a part time job in a care home to make ends meet. With the deferred extra money I get £211 per week. I used the online calculator to claim pension credit as my friends were claiming this and had more than this to live on. I am not entitled to anything. If I didnt get the extra £30 I believe I would get £90 extra from pension credit. Is this correct. 

xylophone

  See https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/factsheets/fs48_pension_credit_fcs.pdf
Pension Credit is a "top up" benefit.
Standard Rate  Guarantee Pension Credit  tops up the income of a single pensioner to  £173.75 a week.
You already have income in excess of this amount and have not mentioned any factor which could potentially increase your entitlement?

Lamoore22253

If the sp is £173.75 then isnt the remainder savings as I still played insurance. I'm just struggling to understand how it works. I could have taken a lump sum for deferring so would that have made a difference. Thank you for replying so promptly. Much appreciated 

xylophone

The Age Concern Fact sheet linked above provides a comprehensive explanation.

If you had taken your state pension when you reached SPA,  and also applied for PC, any employment income that you had and any private pension  to which you were entitled would also have been taken into account in assessing whether or not you were eligible for PC.

PC is a means tested benefit and it would appear that your income is too high for you to be eligible.