PIP, Carers Allowance & Death of a Spouse

Ianstone1

poppy12345 said:

Ianstone1 said:

tacpot12 said:

If he uses the Tell Us Once service promptly, PIP should stop very quickly. If PIP is paid now he needs to put the money on one side as it will be claimed back.

  but, wouldn't the PIP be reclaimed from the estate?

No, it will just end. Any money paid to him after the death of his wife will need to be repaid back so he will need to keep that to one side.

They must have been claiming some benefits, if they weren't how did they pay the rent?

Will they be able to reclaim the PIP overpaid directly from him, if all benefits were paid to his wife and if there is insufficient money in her estate though?  He's not attempting to avoid paying any overpayment back, but, is genuinely worried there's insufficient for all her debts, etc, in the estate.

Spoonie_Turtle

Ianstone1 said:

Thank you everyone for you help, information and advice.  I've spoken to him today and he confirms that all the benefits were bundled up into PIP... this was for the following:
- Living Expenses
- Carers Support
- Disability Income Guarantee (As the PIP tracks at lower than the DLA she received previously)
- PIP - Mobility Component
- PIP - Daily Living Component
- PIP - Carers Allowance.
The benefit package also entitled to free dental, prescriptions, council tax and rent (CTB/HB).

He also advises that they've had problems in the past with claiming other benefits because the websites, etc, still talk about the 'old' gateway benefits (such as ESA / DLA, etc)... so unsure whether that impacts on the death allowances, etc, etc as they don't specifically reference PIP.

These are income-related (either based on income level or passported through income-based benefits), nothing to do with PIP. 

Housing Benefit and help with Council Tax are separate benefits [as is Carers Allowance but that one *is* of course directly dependent upon PIP].

calcotti

Ianstone1 said:

I've spoken to him today and he confirms that all the benefits were bundled up into PIP... this was for the following:
- Living Expenses
- Carers Support
- Disability Income Guarantee (As the PIP tracks at lower than the DLA she received previously)
- PIP - Mobility Component
- PIP - Daily Living Component
- PIP - Carers Allowance.

There are three different benefits here (they are not all bundled into PIP).
Living Expenses, Carers Support and Disability Income Guarantee are parts of an ESA award.
Mobility Component and Daily Living Component are parts of a PIP award.
Carers Allowance is a separate benefit

Ianstone1 said:..The benefit package also entitled to free dental, prescriptions, council tax and rent (CTB/HB).

That would be because of the ESA.

Ianstone1 said: .. so unsure whether that impacts on the death allowances, etc, etc as they don't specifically reference PIP.

PIP is not a benefit giving rise to funeral expenses allowance - but ESA is.

The ESA and PIP will end with death. CA, as advised, can carry on for 8 weeks.

If your brother will still need to claim benefits he needs to claim Universal Credit which will include help with the rent. Unless he has health issues himself he will be expected to look for work but not until six months after the death.

Alice_Holt

Ianstone1 said:

Thank you everyone for you help, information and advice.  I've spoken to him today and he confirms that all the benefits were bundled up into PIP... this was for the following:
- Living Expenses
- Carers Support
- Disability Income Guarantee (As the PIP tracks at lower than the DLA she received previously)
- PIP - Mobility Component
- PIP - Daily Living Component
- PIP - Carers Allowance.
The benefit package also entitled to free dental, prescriptions, council tax and rent (CTB/HB).

He also advises that they've had problems in the past with claiming other benefits because the websites, etc, still talk about the 'old' gateway benefits (such as ESA / DLA, etc)... so unsure whether that impacts on the death allowances, etc, etc as they don't specifically reference PIP.

      There is some confusion here.

      His wife would have received PIP,
      He would have received Carers Allowance,

      Jointly they would have received HB and CT reduction from their local council.

      In addition for the "living expenses" it seems possibly that they were also jointly receiving ESA. 

      These are all separate benefits with separate rules and eligibility criteria, they are not "bundled up into PIP"

    Your brother would be advised to gather all the paperwork, and contact his local advice agency for advice on which benefits he should now claim (likely to be Universal Credit), and advice on help with funeral costs together with eligibility for Bereavement Support payments.


    Has your brother contacted the DWP tell us once service?  Unless he has he will have continuing over-payments of PIP to repay.
   https://www.gov.uk/after-a-death/organisations-you-need-to-contact-and-tell-us-once

   He urgently needs to do that, and sort out benefits in his own right (that he won't have to repay to the DWP).




Re: "Will they be able to reclaim the PIP overpaid directly from him"
  
    I suspect banking arrangements may play a part.
    Is the PIP being paid into a joint account or an account solely in the wife's name?  If the later then the DWP can contact the bank directly.

    

"Payments after death"

If the overpayment happened because the payment arrived before DWP were told about the death, DWP Debt Management will contact:

• the deceased’s next of kin
• the bank the benefit was paid in to
• whoever is handling the estate"
  
  
  https://www.gov.uk/benefit-overpayments/repayments-when-someone-has-died
  
  DWP debt management will negotiate directly with the person handling the estate (would that be your brother, or are there solicitors involved?) 
  This is taken from a solicitors website: "If money must be repaid to the DWP and the estate has already been distributed, you may be able to recover the funds from the beneficiaries. However, the Personal Representatives are ultimately responsible for the repayment. This means you will be personally liable for the repayment if it cannot be made from estate assets."
  https://www.rochelegal.co.uk/resources/help-guides/dwp-claims-on-estates/
  
  The DWP can deduct overpayments from future benefits such as UC (and even Pension Credit), so the PIP overpayments may possibly be reclaimed from your brothers UC claim (once in payment).
  
  These DWP policy guide will inform you further:
  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-overpayment-recovery-staff-guide/benefit-overpayment-recovery-guide

poppy12345

calcotti said:

Ianstone1 said:

I've spoken to him today and he confirms that all the benefits were bundled up into PIP... this was for the following:
- Living Expenses
- Carers Support
- Disability Income Guarantee (As the PIP tracks at lower than the DLA she received previously)
- PIP - Mobility Component
- PIP - Daily Living Component
- PIP - Carers Allowance.

There are three different benefits here (they are not all bundled into PIP).
Living Expenses, Carers Support and Disability Income Guarantee are parts of an ESA award.
Mobility Component and Daily Living Component are parts of a PIP award.
Carers Allowance is a separate benefit

Ianstone1 said:..The benefit package also entitled to free dental, prescriptions, council tax and rent (CTB/HB).

That would be because of the ESA.

Ianstone1 said: .. so unsure whether that impacts on the death allowances, etc, etc as they don't specifically reference PIP.

If your brother will still need to claim benefits he needs to claim Universal Credit which will include help with the rent. Unless he has health issues himself he will be expected to look for work but not until six months after the death.

In addition to the UC he can also claim Bereavment support payment, see link. https://www.gov.uk/bereavement-support-payment

Which will not affect the amount of UC he's entitled to.

OPif he has health issues then it's advised to report these when he claims UC and sends in a fit note from his GP. Although he won't be expected to look for work for 6 months, there's no point delaying reporting the health condition.

BooJewels

To reiterate what others have said overleaf - I too am in much the same situation as your brother - my husband recently passed away and he was on maximum PIP, ESA and I got Carer's Allowance as a result.

I used the Tell Us Once service to advise the DWP about his death and within days he stopped getting his payments.  I think he was overpaid a few days (he'd recently gone to an in-advance payment as he was terminally ill) and I'm waiting to hear about them asking for it back.

I have qualified to get the 8 week run on in respect of Carer's Allowance, but it stopped initially and I had to ring them to get it sorted. So if his stops - tell him to chase them up about it. They paid the missed bits to me as a lump sum within days of me ringing and the last 5 weeks I'm owed are back to being paid on Mondays.

If he is of working age, I do also recommend (as already posted on page 1) that he applies for the Bereavement Support Payment - it's a £2,500 lump sum and then £100 per month for a maximum of 18 months - if you delay applying, you can lose some of those months.  My lump sum was paid within 3 weeks of posting the form and I've had my first month of £100.  As long as his wife paid some NI during her working life and he's under pension age, he should get it - he'll need a marriage and death certificate - if he doesn't want to post off the originals, as I didn't (at least with the marriage certificate) you can get them certified at a local job centre.  He may also qualify for the Funeral Expenses Payment.

Bjter

Possibly, Funeral expense payment, Breavement Support payment, Warm Home Discount Scheme, Housing bnefits and Council Tax Scheme.

poppy12345

Bjter said:

Possibly, Funeral expense payment, Breavement Support payment, Warm Home Discount Scheme, Housing bnefits and Council Tax Scheme.

Which have all been previously advised, apart from the WHD. Housing benefit will end once a claim for Universal Credit is made.

calcotti

poppy12345 said:

Bjter said:

Possibly, Funeral expense payment, Breavement Support payment, Warm Home Discount Scheme, Housing bnefits and Council Tax Scheme.

Which have all been previously advised, apart from the WHD. Housing benefit will end once a claim for Universal Credit is made.

If the HB claimant was the deceased will it not have stopped already?

poppy12345

calcotti said:

poppy12345 said:

Bjter said:

Possibly, Funeral expense payment, Breavement Support payment, Warm Home Discount Scheme, Housing bnefits and Council Tax Scheme.

Which have all been previously advised, apart from the WHD. Housing benefit will end once a claim for Universal Credit is made.

If the HB claimant was the deceased will it not have stopped already?

Good point, i didn't think of that. Yes it will have providing the death has been reported.