How far back will the govt backdate my mum's Pension Credit application?

monsterball

My mum's got so elderly that I've needed to help sort out her financial affairs. I want to help her apply for some benefits, given the cost-of-living crisis. 

My parents have never been wealthy, and I'm pretty sure she's been eligible for Pension Credit ever since she reached State Pension age (15 years ago), but she never applied for it (as far as she remembers?).

If I provide evidence of mum's bank statements going back that far, will the government really backdate it from 15 years ago? What's the typical duration they backdate to?

p00hsticks

It's probably a question more suited to the Benefit's boar,d but I think the answer is that it can only be backdated for a maximum of three months prior to making the application.

Marcon

Three months. See https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit/how-to-claim

xylophone

My parents have never been wealthy, 

Is Mum a widow now?

Have a look at this.

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/factsheets/large-print-factsheets/fs48-lp-pension-credit.pdf

monsterball

xylophone said:

My parents have never been wealthy, 

Is Mum a widow now?

Have a look at this...

Thanks all. I'll take a look at that - seems like a useful document. Yes, she is a widow - dad passed away a few years ago. My siblings and I have been helping support her on top of her pension, but with rising costs for everything, I guess it's time we applied for any benefit she's been eligible for all these years. 

My mum had dental treatment in June 2022, and suddenly got a bill in September from NHS Business saying she needs to pay a few hundred quid for it. Even if she doesn't receive Pension Credit backdated for longer than 3 months, is there any chance that the dental treatment she received might be covered? 

Marcon

monsterball said:

xylophone said:

My parents have never been wealthy, 

Is Mum a widow now?

Have a look at this...

Thanks all. I'll take a look at that - seems like a useful document. Yes, she is a widow - dad passed away a few years ago. My siblings and I have been helping support her on top of her pension, but with rising costs for everything, I guess it's time we applied for any benefit she's been eligible for all these years. 

My mum had dental treatment in June 2022, and suddenly got a bill in September from NHS Business saying she needs to pay a few hundred quid for it. Even if she doesn't receive Pension Credit backdated for longer than 3 months, is there any chance that the dental treatment she received might be covered? 

Without knowing the details of the dental treatment it's impossible to know. Worth asking the dentist (or indeed their receptionist), who may be familiar with such questions.

NedS

Marcon said:

monsterball said:

My mum had dental treatment in June 2022, and suddenly got a bill in September from NHS Business saying she needs to pay a few hundred quid for it. Even if she doesn't receive Pension Credit backdated for longer than 3 months, is there any chance that the dental treatment she received might be covered? 

Without knowing the details of the dental treatment it's impossible to know. Worth asking the dentist (or indeed their receptionist), who may be familiar with such questions.

That would suggest she ticked the box to say she was entitled to free NHS dentistry when in fact she wasn't (it takes a few months for the checks to be performed and errors to be picked up). You would need to check the details, but assuming that to be the case, she would need to pay for the treatment.

xylophone

Thanks all. I'll take a look at that - seems like a useful document. Yes, she is a widow - dad passed away a few years ago. My siblings and I have been helping support her on top of her pension,

When your father died, was any adjustment made to your mother's state pension?

Is she eligible to receive a widow's pension from any pension scheme your late father may have had?

With regard to the dental treatment, was your mother a national health patient?

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/dentists/dental-costs/understanding-nhs-dental-charges/