Can my father lose his state pension because he didn't apply for settled status?

Malthusian

Rich2808 said:

I really do find it hard to believe that anyone could have missed our vote to leave the EU in June 2016, our departure in January 2020 and the end of transition on 31 January and the requirement to register for settled status which has been open for applications for two years. 5.6 million people seem to have coped with that requirement - which takes only a few minutes to do.

If you give 5.6 million+ people a job it's hardly unbelievable that a couple of them failed to do it or screwed it up. If you asked 5.6 million random adults in the UK to recite the alphabet lots of them would mess it up.

As for 'hostile environments' I suggest they move to most EU countries where EU citizens not from that country are required to register with the local council or police after 3 months of residency or they are in effect living there illegally. Perhaps if we had proper systems like most of the EU with public services/residency/ID cards we might not have found out that there are 2.5 million more EU residents here than we thought. Same lack of records caused the Windrush problem. Utterly s**t systems all round.

The Windrush problem was caused when the Home Office under Alan Johnson decided to delete a bunch of old records even though they weren't actually obsolete. Adding yet another identity card system on top of our multiple existing identity cards wouldn't help anyone when we can't process our existing records properly.

You point out correctly that the grass isn't actually greener in the EU when it comes to official tolerance of migrants, but bureaucratic screw-ups are common there too. The woman in France who has spent years trying to prove she isn't dead springs to mind. (And that's just a case which was amusing enough to make the foreign press; most bureaucratic nightmares in other countries are never reported outside their local papers, which helps people form the impression that they live in the only country with incompetent bureaucracy. Likewise the only country with corrupt politicians, racism, noisy children in restaurants, etc.)

I agree with SomeMadeUpName that it would be a bad idea to trust any Home Office assurances about being "flexible and compassionate". But not because of the politics or personality of the current Home Secretary. Alan Johnson was hardly a jackbooted xenophobe and look what happened under his watch.

If you think the UK is tough try living in a country which has proper immigration and residency controls! Or perhaps even move to one which doesn't pay such an awful state pension on retirement (only Lithuania pays a worse pension relative to average wages)!

The UK state pension is low relative to the EU because most EU pensions are earnings-linked. The idea that richer people should be paid more taxpayers' money than poorer people became untenable over here and was fully dropped in 2016. UK pensions are not particularly better or worse than EU ones once you add in private pensions.

ossian

Malthusian said:

The UK state pension is low relative to the EU because most EU pensions are earnings-linked. The idea that richer people should be paid more taxpayers' money than poorer people became untenable over here and was fully dropped in 2016. UK pensions are not particularly better or worse than EU ones once you add in private pensions.

UK pensions are still poorer than EU pensions once private pensions are added in. Private pensions are also subject to the whims of the markets (annuity, equity and bond). 

sheslookinhot

ambrose90 said:

SomeMadeUpName said:

@ambrose90, please come back and assure us both your parents registered by the 30th.  I'd hate to think of anyone who's contributed to the UK for years getting bilked on their entitlements, and I don't trust the Home Office's assurances they will be 'flexible and compassionate' as far as I can throw them!

We tried registering dad on the last day but this being last day the servers got overloaded and we got errors trying to finish the application. We tried up until around midnight.
We'll need to appeal this, as obviously this is a valid reason for reassessment. 

Why did you wait until the last day for registering your dad?

Alice_Holt

ambrose90 said:

SomeMadeUpName said:

@ambrose90, please come back and assure us both your parents registered by the 30th.  I'd hate to think of anyone who's contributed to the UK for years getting bilked on their entitlements, and I don't trust the Home Office's assurances they will be 'flexible and compassionate' as far as I can throw them!

We tried registering dad on the last day but this being last day the servers got overloaded and we got errors trying to finish the application. We tried up until around midnight.
We'll need to appeal this, as obviously this is a valid reason for reassessment. 

    

  "What happens if I didn't apply by 30 June 2021?

From 1 July 2021 a person’s presence in the UK will no longer be tolerated, they will be considered without an immigration status. That person may face restrictions on existing rights and entitlements in the UK unless they make a late application and will face restrictions on creating some new rights and entitlements until they receive pre-Settled or Settled Status. Anyone who fails to make a late application will fall within the UK Government’s ‘hostile environment’ immigration policies and risk immigration enforcement.

I have missed the deadline. What do I do now?

The Home Office are required to accept late applications where there are reasonable grounds for the deadline having been missed – see Late Application guidance. This means, you must explain why you missed the deadline, and the Home Office must accept that explanation as being a reasonable excuse in order for them to accept your late EUSS application. The late application must also have been made as soon as possible after the deadline has passed.

The Home Office has provided some examples of good reasons for missing the deadline, such as children whose parent or guardian do not apply on their behalf, those in abusive or controlling relationships who are prevented from applying or accessing the documents that they need to do so and those who lack the physical or mental capacity to apply.

Will the Home Office accept my late application?

The Home Office will not automatically grant late applications. They first will assess the reason for the late application and will determine whether or not it is a reasonable excuse. They will also assess if it has been submitted as soon as reasonably possible after the deadline. The Home Office will accept nearly all reasons for applying late, if the late application is made soon after the deadline. As you move further away from the deadline you will need to have increasingly good reasons supported, in many cases, with evidence.

If they accept the explanation, then they will go forward with processing the application for pre-Settled Status or Settled Status. If they do not accept the explanation, they will reject the application and return it to you. In this scenario, it will be as if the application was never made. You will then need to challenge their reasons for rejection, in which case we recommend seeking legal advice. You can find an immigration adviser here.

Late applications and protection from enforcement action

The UK Government confirmed that if you did not make an application before the 30 June 2021 deadline, then you will become unlawfully resident in the UK after that date. This means that unless you make a late application (see Late Applications guidance for further information), you will not have access to future jobs, future rentals, secondary healthcare, new social services, and other rights, and you may be subject to detention and ultimately removal from the UK. While you might be able to apply to the EUSS after any deadline has passed, the impact of an unlawful residence status will be devastating, and it will continue to some extent until such time that the Home Office grants EUSS status. This means, while your application is being processed the ability to create some new rights and entitlements will be paused until it is decided."


And:

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/immigration/staying-in-the-uk-if-youre-from-the-eu#h-making-a-late-application-to-the-eu-settlement-scheme

" Making a late application to the EU Settlement Scheme

If you didn’t apply to the EU Settlement Scheme by 30 June 2021, your rights in the UK have changed. If you can make a late application, you should do this as soon as possible.

Check if you can apply

You can make a late application to the EU Settlement Scheme if you couldn’t apply on time for practical or ‘compassionate’ reasons. It will help if you have evidence to show why you couldn’t apply on time.

You might have a practical reason if you:

• can’t speak English or use the internet

• are homeless 

• are disabled or have other support needs

• have lived in the UK a long time and didn’t realise you needed to apply - for example, if you have permanent residence

• are in prison and you don’t have access to advice or documents

You can also make a late application if you couldn’t get the evidence you needed in time - for example, because of coronavirus. If you’re waiting for a new passport or national identity card, you can still make a late application. You’ll need to:

• ask your embassy for a letter confirming you’ve applied for a new passport or identity card

• apply to the EU Settlement Scheme on a paper form - find out more about applying on a paper form

You might also be able to make a late application for compassionate reasons. This might be because you:

• have experienced domestic abuse

• are a child and your parents didn’t apply for you

• are a child in care or you recently left care

• are a trafficking victim

There might be other good reasons why you couldn’t apply on time. When you make a late application, you should say what your reasons are and try to include evidence to show why you’re making a late application."

ambrose90

sheslookinhot said:

ambrose90 said:

SomeMadeUpName said:

@ambrose90, please come back and assure us both your parents registered by the 30th.  I'd hate to think of anyone who's contributed to the UK for years getting bilked on their entitlements, and I don't trust the Home Office's assurances they will be 'flexible and compassionate' as far as I can throw them!

We tried registering dad on the last day but this being last day the servers got overloaded and we got errors trying to finish the application. We tried up until around midnight.
We'll need to appeal this, as obviously this is a valid reason for reassessment. 

Why did you wait until the last day for registering your dad?

Did you read the original post? I reminded my mother to do it, but she remained ignorant until the very last week, then she decided she would only need it for herself  
I tried to help but I don't live anywhere near them, so a friend of mine actually took time and visited them (twice, first time he was sent back by mum after doing just her application) and registered using his own phone (mum can't use tech... she just can't).

Why am I even explaining myself?

Thank you to all people who provided helpful information.

jamesd

There is good reason for hope even for quite late applications: our EU friends would not appreciate poor treatment of their citizens and the fiasco of the Windrush scandal is still recent memory.