Inheritance and DWP

Mawm

Hi,
New here and just wondering if you had an update on the DWP and how long it took? 

Ammah45

cheekyweegit said:

Was your dad on Pension Credit when he moved into the care home  and if so did he have an open Assessed Income Period (AIP) as decribed in a previous post prior to going in where he didn't have to declare any changes to his income?

If he did have an AIP in place before going in this would end automatically on permanent admission to the care home as it's classed as a life event and hish Pension Credit should have been re-assessed from the date he became a permanent resident.  NOTE *** PERMANENT RESIDENT*** any periods of respite prior to this does not count.

Department of Work & Pensions should've have done an assessment of his Pension Credit and it's usually done by sending out a PC2(LE) form.  The majority of this form is tick boxes to complete, with the exception of the part which asks specifically about savings and investments.  This form needs to be completed as at the date your dad first became permanent in a care home (even if he had moved since the original admission).

This form should have been sent to either the customer / customers representative eg Appointee / Power of Attorney / Deputy. 

If the customer had capacity, then anyone could help them fill it in, but customer would need to sign it, if a representative was in place it would be them who would complete & sign it (the represetative should have been registered with Pension Credit and your dads benefit mail would've been sent directy to them).

The first £10k of any savings are ignored, although all savings need to be declared including the first £10k (this often confuses folks who think they don't need to be told about the first £10k).  Anything over and above this is reduces the Pension Credit by £1 per week for every £500 or part of over and above the £10k.  So if a customer had £10,503.22 then it would be reduced by £2 per week.

If no review was done / the form returned and not processed, then if there is an over payment and they try to recover it you could ask for a reconsideration of the over payment based on this to see if any over payment can be over turned on the basis that DWP had the information and failed to follow up on it.

Equally if a customer who was not in a care home had to buy a new bed and bedding there is potential for the Pension Credit to be increased by £2 per week if this outlay took their savings to £10k or below.

If your dad was self funding in the care home, he should've been getting Attendance Allowance / Disability Living Allowance Care Component or Personal Independence Payment Care Component which would also have given him a premium on his Pension Credit even with £40k savings chances are he was still entitled to some Pension Credit even if just savings credit element depending on his age (as long as he reached State Pension Age before 06.04.16 there would be a possible entitlement to this element of Pension Credit).

* Pension Credit is made up of two elements, some get one, some the other some both depending on their income.  The two elements are Guaranteed Pension Credit (this is the one which gets you automatic help lots of things like dental costs, glasses, rent / council tax rebate).  The other Savings Credit, a customer might stil be entitled to help with the aforementioned, but not automatically, they would just need to apply separately for them via the NHS / Local Autority.

If / when funding changed and no longer self funding, then Attendance Allowance / Disability Living Allowance / Personal Independance Payment care component should've stopped & the Extra Amount for Severe Disability Payment part of his Pension Credit should've ended too reducing his payments.

If it turns out he was not entitled to any Pension Credit, get them to check his Winter Fuel Payment as when on Pension Credit and in a care home depending on the date of admission he may not have received his Winter Fuel Payment and should have done so, so money might actually be owed to your dad.

This link takes you to the eligibility to this years payment, but it will give you some valuable information about it if needbe. 

https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment/eligibility

One very common misconception I've found is folks think that the Local Authority inform DWP when someone goes into thec home & tells them about any savings / investments / property for sale when they do their financial assessment.  This is nottthe case and causes a lot of problems.  Some times they will send in a courtesy letter, but this is rare and the first time we they find out a customer has moved when a benefit letter is returned to them marked "RETURN TO SENDER - NO LONGER AT THIS ADDRESS" by the new resident of the address held for the customer.

Another is that a customer is only allowed £16k in savings and anything above that no entitlement to Pension Credit which is not always the case, as if a customer has a low State Pension / Housing costs such as ground rent / service charges or Caring Responsibilities / Gets a Disability Benefit in their own right they could have considerably more savings and still get Pension Credit.

Apologies for the long post but thought it was better to put more in that less in the hope it makes sense and helps to get things resolved.

 

Thanks both.
My father was in the care home for 18 months before his passing. He was not on a full pension and was severely disabled, couldn't walk and couldn't even hold a pen to write with. I know that DWP assessed him regularly and I have the letters to prove it. I believed all that side of the work was handled but now I am hit with a possible bill to pay back a chunk of my inheritence. 

Anyway, I have dismissed the solicitors. Paid off their bill and took the funds. If the money owed back is -£2 for every 500 over 10K, then we are not talking about any significant amount. The solicitor sent them all the bank statements showing his money but they have still written back asking form more information, which I don't have.

What worries me is the attendance allowance, even though my father was contributing to the costs every month. Potentially they could be asking for £60 a week for 18 months. If they do, I will appeal against it.    

By the time all this is settled, I'll have no money left to pay back. Perhaps I can pay something monthly until it's all paid back. 

Mawm

Ammah45 said:

cheekyweegit said:

Was your dad on Pension Credit when he moved into the care home  and if so did he have an open Assessed Income Period (AIP) as decribed in a previous post prior to going in where he didn't have to declare any changes to his income?

If he did have an AIP in place before going in this would end automatically on permanent admission to the care home as it's classed as a life event and hish Pension Credit should have been re-assessed from the date he became a permanent resident.  NOTE *** PERMANENT RESIDENT*** any periods of respite prior to this does not count.

Department of Work & Pensions should've have done an assessment of his Pension Credit and it's usually done by sending out a PC2(LE) form.  The majority of this form is tick boxes to complete, with the exception of the part which asks specifically about savings and investments.  This form needs to be completed as at the date your dad first became permanent in a care home (even if he had moved since the original admission).

This form should have been sent to either the customer / customers representative eg Appointee / Power of Attorney / Deputy. 

If the customer had capacity, then anyone could help them fill it in, but customer would need to sign it, if a representative was in place it would be them who would complete & sign it (the represetative should have been registered with Pension Credit and your dads benefit mail would've been sent directy to them).

The first £10k of any savings are ignored, although all savings need to be declared including the first £10k (this often confuses folks who think they don't need to be told about the first £10k).  Anything over and above this is reduces the Pension Credit by £1 per week for every £500 or part of over and above the £10k.  So if a customer had £10,503.22 then it would be reduced by £2 per week.

If no review was done / the form returned and not processed, then if there is an over payment and they try to recover it you could ask for a reconsideration of the over payment based on this to see if any over payment can be over turned on the basis that DWP had the information and failed to follow up on it.

Equally if a customer who was not in a care home had to buy a new bed and bedding there is potential for the Pension Credit to be increased by £2 per week if this outlay took their savings to £10k or below.

If your dad was self funding in the care home, he should've been getting Attendance Allowance / Disability Living Allowance Care Component or Personal Independence Payment Care Component which would also have given him a premium on his Pension Credit even with £40k savings chances are he was still entitled to some Pension Credit even if just savings credit element depending on his age (as long as he reached State Pension Age before 06.04.16 there would be a possible entitlement to this element of Pension Credit).

* Pension Credit is made up of two elements, some get one, some the other some both depending on their income.  The two elements are Guaranteed Pension Credit (this is the one which gets you automatic help lots of things like dental costs, glasses, rent / council tax rebate).  The other Savings Credit, a customer might stil be entitled to help with the aforementioned, but not automatically, they would just need to apply separately for them via the NHS / Local Autority.

If / when funding changed and no longer self funding, then Attendance Allowance / Disability Living Allowance / Personal Independance Payment care component should've stopped & the Extra Amount for Severe Disability Payment part of his Pension Credit should've ended too reducing his payments.

If it turns out he was not entitled to any Pension Credit, get them to check his Winter Fuel Payment as when on Pension Credit and in a care home depending on the date of admission he may not have received his Winter Fuel Payment and should have done so, so money might actually be owed to your dad.

This link takes you to the eligibility to this years payment, but it will give you some valuable information about it if needbe. 

https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment/eligibility

One very common misconception I've found is folks think that the Local Authority inform DWP when someone goes into thec home & tells them about any savings / investments / property for sale when they do their financial assessment.  This is nottthe case and causes a lot of problems.  Some times they will send in a courtesy letter, but this is rare and the first time we they find out a customer has moved when a benefit letter is returned to them marked "RETURN TO SENDER - NO LONGER AT THIS ADDRESS" by the new resident of the address held for the customer.

Another is that a customer is only allowed £16k in savings and anything above that no entitlement to Pension Credit which is not always the case, as if a customer has a low State Pension / Housing costs such as ground rent / service charges or Caring Responsibilities / Gets a Disability Benefit in their own right they could have considerably more savings and still get Pension Credit.

Apologies for the long post but thought it was better to put more in that less in the hope it makes sense and helps to get things resolved.

 

Thanks both.
My father was in the care home for 18 months before his passing. He was not on a full pension and was severely disabled, couldn't walk and couldn't even hold a pen to write with. I know that DWP assessed him regularly and I have the letters to prove it. I believed all that side of the work was handled but now I am hit with a possible bill to pay back a chunk of my inheritence. 

Anyway, I have dismissed the solicitors. Paid off their bill and took the funds. If the money owed back is -£2 for every 500 over 10K, then we are not talking about any significant amount. The solicitor sent them all the bank statements showing his money but they have still written back asking form more information, which I don't have.

What worries me is the attendance allowance, even though my father was contributing to the costs every month. Potentially they could be asking for £60 a week for 18 months. If they do, I will appeal against it.    

By the time all this is settled, I'll have no money left to pay back. Perhaps I can pay something monthly until it's all paid back. 

Hi, did you get a resolution from the DWP? We are 6 months from the start of there investigations and just wondering what your time scale was. Tia 

Ammah45

Mawm said:

Hi, did you get a resolution from the DWP? We are 6 months from the start of there investigations and just wondering what your time scale was. Tia 

Thanks for asking. 
No, they sent a reply to their letter last November but they haven't got back to me yet. I am sure at some point they will and will demand money back. 

Mawm

Ammah45 said:

Mawm said:

Hi, did you get a resolution from the DWP? We are 6 months from the start of there investigations and just wondering what your time scale was. Tia 

Thanks for asking. 
No, they sent a reply to their letter last November but they haven't got back to me yet. I am sure at some point they will and will demand money back. 

It's awful leaving families in limbo like this, I hope you get a resolution soon. Its difficult to move on without everything being finalised. Thanks for your reply.