State pension, pension credit, and housing benefit after UC LCWRA?

nayathepsychic

My friend currently receives UC (LCWRA) and PIP, and will reach state pension age next May. She is starting to worry about how she will manage on just her pension, so I've done a bit of digging and found that she will continue to get PIP after she reaches pension age, but I'm unclear on whether there is a disability component for state pension. 

She currently receives housing allowance which covers her full rent as part of UC, can she claim HB or similar once UC ends?

I think she may also be entitled to Pension Credit, we checked her NI record and it shows 30 years full contributions, but for full state pension one needs 35 years, is that right?

She does not have much savings, under £5k she tells me.


I'm in a similar position myself though I'm several years younger, would it be better for me to try to catch up my NI contributions as I have more time? I understand this is possibly hard to answer with confidence as the rules may change again in the next 13 years. 

Torry_Quine

She needs to check how much state pension she'll get. As she is under transitional arrangements there's no guarantee of how many years contributions she needs for a full pension amount. 

nayathepsychic

Torry_Quine said:

She needs to check how much state pension she'll get. As she is under transitional arrangements there's no guarantee of how many years contributions she needs for a full pension amount. 

When we looked online at gov.uk and followed the formula (full pension/35 x30) it came out at something like £177 a week. It seemed quite clear that she needed 35 years contributions, is that not the case? 

sammyjammy

35 years only applies to those who start work post 2016 for the first time.  £177 implies that there are years that she could make up if she wishes.  If you post details on the Pension board from her pension statement and her details now (claiming benefits etc) they can help identify which years are best to pay to being her up to the maximum.

She will have two additional years from claiming UC by the time she retires so that may clear it up.

nayathepsychic

sammyjammy said:

35 years only applies to those who start work post 2016 for the first time.  £177 implies that there are years that she could make up if she wishes.  If you post details on the Pension board from her pension statement and her details now (claiming benefits etc) they can help identify which years are best to pay to being her up to the maximum.

She will have two additional years from claiming UC by the time she retires so that may clear it up.

Thanks for clarifying that. I'd been reading it as retiring after 2016 (ugh, brain fog). I'll redo that calculation later when I see her.

As she currently receives the LCWRA element of UC, is there a provision in the state pension for a disability element. This, along with the housing benefit question seem to be her main worry points. She is convinced she'll be worse off once her UC entitlement ends. She is living in a housing association property and receives the housing element of UC which covers the rent and service charge in full. Will she need to claim HB instead? Or something else? She thinks she's expected to pay it out of her pension but I don't think that can be right as it won't leave enough to live on.

luvchocolate

Definitely get a pension forcast. 
 Housing and council tax help possible through local council. 

pmlindyloo

Once she has a pension forecast then you can do a benefit calculation for her.  You can use www.entitledto.co.uk

I am presuming that she lives on her own.

Also, have a look at this link which explains all about Pension Credit.

Pension Credit: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

If she receives Pension Credit then she will receive Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support.

Based on what you have said - single, living in an HA property, little savings then I would expect her to receive full HB and CTS if she is entitled to Pension Credit.

If she gets PIP daily living then she should certainly do a benefits calculation once she has a pension forecast as she would have a severe disability taken into account in the calculations.

An application for Pension Credit can be made up to 4 months in advance.

poppy12345

Is she living alone or with a partner? If with a partner are they state pension age or younger?

Alice_Holt

And. OP, what components / rates of PIP does she receive? 

nayathepsychic

Thanks all for your replies. 

She lives alone, receives daily living standard rate PIP, and having looked again at her state pension qualification she will get the full amount. 

whizzywoo

nayathepsychic said:

Thanks all for your replies. 

She lives alone, receives daily living standard rate PIP, and having looked again at her state pension qualification she will get the full amount. 

If the State Pension and PIP Standard Care Component are all she will receive then it seems as though she will qualify for Guarantee Pension Credit, even though she may receive the full New State Pension.

Because of the PIP she receives and because she lives alone she would qualify for the Severe Disability Element of Pension Credit.  Guarantee Pension Credit would mean no Council Tax.  I am not sure about the Housing Benefit but I think that she would qualify.

You should put her details into Age Concern's Benefit Checker, when putting in the date of birth pretend that they are already State Pension Age.  
https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/money-legal/benefits-entitlements/benefits-calculator/

At the moment the Pension Credit service has huge backlogs.  So make sure that she puts in a claim as soon as possible, as a previous poster has stated it can be claimed 4 months before State Pension Age.