Cost of Living payments; Winter fuel payments etc for pensioner with Pension Credit

cantthinkofname

Apologies if this has been answered in one form or another elsewhere, but I need some clarification / a summary.

As titled, below is applicable for a pensioner on pension credit.

As I understand it, they'll be eligible for the one-off cost of living payment of £650.  However, would they also be eligible for the £300 Pensioner cost of living payment?

If so, is that £300 on top of the usual Winter Fuel / Cold Weather payments?

Lastly, I believe they'll also be entitled to the non-repayable £400 energy payment?

Would the Cost of Living £650 and Pensioner £300 payment be deemed as income, therefore if they take you beyond the £10,000 capital limit, you the need to notify DWP?

I assume the Winter fuel / cold weather payments and the impending energy grant of £400 do not need to be reported (to the council in respect of HB and CTR)?

Spoonie_Turtle

Yes they will get the £650, the £300, and the £400 energy credit if they have a domestic electricity supply, plus the usual Winter Fuel Payment.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/cost-of-living-payment

These are all ignored as income, tax-free, etc.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cost-of-living-support/cost-of-living-support-factsheet-26-may-2022

"This payment will be tax-free, will not count towards the benefit cap, and will not have any impact on existing benefit awards."

"The Winter Fuel Payment (including the extra Pensioner Cost of Living Payment) is not taxable and does not affect eligibility for other benefits."

cantthinkofname

Thanks Spoonie_Turtle for your reply.

So if they're on the verge of passing the 10k limit, they could safely ignore a total of £950 before they need to get in touch with DWP to advise that their capital has exceeded £10,950?

Thinking about it, when I mentioned 'income' above, I suppose it could be construed as 'savings'?

Any further thoughts in this regard?

Spoonie_Turtle

I don't know for certain, but specifying it not affecting eligibility for other benefits would seem to me to imply it should be ignored as capital.  I found this for UC:

"Energy rebate scheme 1  UC Regs, Sch 10, para 22
H2098 Payments made from the energy rebate scheme 2022 (see H2099) will  be  disregarded  as capital for  a period  of  12  months  from  the  date  of  receipt1.  This  would  include  the  £150  council  tax  rebate and  payments from the discretionary  fund."

There has been no update yet for the Cost of Living payments, and I couldn't find such comprehensive guidance for Pension Credit, but it did have this under capital disregards:

"Arrears of, and compensation for the late payment of, the following benefits are normally ignored for a year from when they are received:

• Social Fund payments (including Cold Weather Payments and Winter Fuel Payments)"

So in principle I would be extremely surprised if the CoL payments were not also disregarded as capital for 12 months, but I can't find specific legislation yet that explicitly states that - I don't know how long it normally takes to bring in legislation for things like this.


Ooh, actually, after a bit more digging it turns out the law says this:

"Payments to be disregarded for the purposes of tax and social security

No account is to be taken of an additional payment in considering a person’s—

(b)entitlement to benefit under an enactment relating to social security (irrespective of the name or nature of the benefit),"

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2022/38/contents/enacted

So, I am not a lawyer but that surely means it's totally disregarded?

calcotti

Spoonie_Turtle said:So, I am not a lawyer but that surely means it's totally disregarded?

That’s my reading too.

cantthinkofname

Thank you both.

So as it stands, the CoL payments of £650 and £300 can be disregarded as capital from date of receipt for 12 months?

cantthinkofname

Have there been any updates on legislation / definitive guidance on COL payments and pension credit capital disregards?

Or has anyone had first-hand experience with the first £326 paid recently?  So the new limit becomes £10,326?

What about after the second payment of £324?  Will the limit then become £10,324 or £10,650?

Likewise, with the pensioner COL payment .... £10,300 or £10,950?

calcotti

The regulation simply says that the CoL payments are to be disregarded when assessing entitled to means tested benefits. Not clear how long such a disregard will be applied.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2022/38/section/8/enacted. 
Can’t imagine it is really intended to be permanent disregard but the regulation contains no qualifying time limitation

arnoldy

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Yes they will get the £650, the £300, and the £400 energy credit if they have a domestic electricity supply, plus the usual Winter Fuel Payment.

So if you have been careful and done the right thing to get a modest works/personal pension to be a few pennies over pension credit you dont get £1350. Oh and you have to pay the TV licence. And no other freebies. So you are massively worse off. A case study in the pernicious nature of means tested benefits.

calcotti

arnoldy said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Yes they will get the £650, the £300, and the £400 energy credit if they have a domestic electricity supply, plus the usual Winter Fuel Payment.

So if you have been careful and done the right thing to get a modest works/personal pension to be a few pennies over pension credit you dont get £1350. Oh and you have to pay the TV licence. And no other freebies. So you are massively worse off. A case study in the pernicious nature of means tested benefits.

You do still get £700. If you still a few pennies over you may get other freebies depending on what you are referring to.

What’s the alternative to means testing - give everybody the same.

MalMonroe

arnoldy said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Yes they will get the £650, the £300, and the £400 energy credit if they have a domestic electricity supply, plus the usual Winter Fuel Payment.

So if you have been careful and done the right thing to get a modest works/personal pension to be a few pennies ovprer pension credit you dont get £1350. Oh and you have to pay the TV licence. And no other freebies. So you are massively worse off. A case study in the pernicious nature of means tested benefits.

Yep, that's me. I have two small private pensions that take me over the limit so I don't get any benefits.

But I don't think of it as a negative. I think of it as a definite positive. Because I'm not on benefits. My income's small. And I have marketable skills which I'm about to put into practise as I start my own online business. I don't have to rely on any benefits nor do I have to report every single change in my circumstances to anyone else. I honestly do not mind any of the benefits any other people get from being pensioners with pension credit. That is their business and nothing to do with me. I can't keep bleating that I'm badly done to because I don't feel that I am. I don't want the state to support me, I'm in the very privileged position of being able to add to my income myself. I cannot feel bitter because other people 'qualify' for pension credit. I'm pleased for them. But I don't want it.