Reaching SP Pension Age And UC

Riverstone58

Hello! Hopefully not a stupid question but you never can tell with my not so sharp brain.

When on UC my assessment period was the 16th to the 15th of the following month. I turned 66 on July 31st, and so my last AP was up to August 15th with my claim being closed the following day on the 16th.

My query is should my UC payment entitlement have ended when I turned 66 on July 31st, or at the end of my final AP on August 15th with UC being paid (5 weeks?) in arrears?

Thanks for any clarification.

poppy12345

UC is paid 1 month in arrears, not 5 weeks. UC will continue until the end of the assessment period in which you reach state pension age, 16th July to 15th August. I would have expected you to have received your statement for this month by now. 

Riverstone58

Thanks for the reply and which is what I would have thought but I just wanted to make sure first. And yes, I have received my statement with half the amount I was expecting but UC have totally shut and cut me off.

I completed my last AP on August 15th and received my final statement very early the next morning on the 16th. Under the section 'What we take off (deductions)' it reads :

"Other benefits

We take money off your payment as this is an average of other benefits that you're continuing to claim... State Pension £504.21"

I received a pension payment of £63-20 on August 1st, which was described in a prior DWP pension letter as a "one-off" payment for the period 31.07.24 to 01.08.24. I then start to receive my full pension paid every 4 weeks commencing 29.08.24 for £884-80.

I sent a journal message timed at 7:00AM on the 16th under 'A payment' querying the pension deduction and explained my pension payments exactly as above.

An hour later I received a standard formatted statement showing on the home page:

"Your claim

You can't get Universal Credit

You made a claim for Universal Credit on 16 April 2022 however you
can't receive this benefit.

This is because you've reached State Pension or Pension credit
qualifying age.

You can find more information in your journal or your statement."

Obviously I HAD NOT made a claim and in the actual journal another formatted reply reads:

"Your claim has been closed.

Closed date 16 August 2024
Closure reason You're able to receive State Pension or Pension Credit

You will not receive any more payments. This includes any payments to your landlord or mortgage provider to cover your rent, interest or service charges. You must arrange to pay these directly....etc, etc, etc"

Obviously I knew my existing claim was closed for the reason given but it appears to me they've cut my claim off on July 31st?

I hope this has made sense but I find it extremely difficult trying to write posts on mobile.

NedS

Riverstone58 said:

Obviously I knew my existing claim was closed for the reason given but it appears to me they've cut my claim off on July 31st?

I hope this has made sense but I find it extremely difficult trying to write posts on mobile.

No, UC cannot be paid UC for a part period, so that is just not possible.

You have received UC for the full AP, 16th July to 15th August, but any State Pension that you are entitled to receive during that period will be deducted from your UC claim. So they will calculate the amount of your SP for the period 31st July to 15th Aug, and deduct that amount from any UC that you may have been entitled to. Your UC claim will then close on 16th August as no longer entitled.

This often means that if your birthday falls near the start of the AP, you will receive little or no UC as any entitlement will be negated by the amount of SP you have received. Conversely, if your birthday happens to fall towards the end of your AP, you will not have received much SP so the UC entitlement may be higher.

poppy12345

The deduction for your pension is  for 2 weeks up until August 15th, which is correct. State pension is deducted in full from any UC entitlement. 

Riverstone58

poppy12345 said:

The deduction for your pension is  for 2 weeks up until August 15th, which is correct. State pension is deducted in full from any UC entitlement. 

So although I don't receive my first full pension until 2 weeks after the end of my AP on the 29th, the 2 weeks up to the 15th are still treated as having pension income even though I haven't received it?

To be honest I was originally expecting the cut-off for UC to be on my birthday on July 31st, which I (incorrectly) thought would automatically close my claim once I turned 66.

I had previously asked UC about this and they said, no, my claim would close on the 16th the day after my last AP.  It was UC who then led me to believe I would be paid as normal for the last AP as my pension is paid in arrears and which is why I was querying the pension deduction on my statement.

poppy12345

Riverstone58 said:

poppy12345 said:

The deduction for your pension is  for 2 weeks up until August 15th, which is correct. State pension is deducted in full from any UC entitlement. 

So although I don't receive my first full pension until 2 weeks after the end of my AP on the 29th, the 2 weeks up to the 15th are still treated as having pension income even though I haven't received it?

You will receive your State Pension because it's  paid 4 weeks in arrears and you'll receive your payment on 29th August which will be for the previous 4 weeks which covers  the period from 1st August to 29th August. 

During that first 2 weeks of that period you were claiming UC, which is the reason for the deduction. 

Riverstone58

poppy12345 said:

Riverstone58 said:

poppy12345 said:

The deduction for your pension is  for 2 weeks up until August 15th, which is correct. State pension is deducted in full from any UC entitlement. 

So although I don't receive my first full pension until 2 weeks after the end of my AP on the 29th, the 2 weeks up to the 15th are still treated as having pension income even though I haven't received it?

You will receive your State Pension because it's  paid 4 weeks in arrears and you'll receive your payment on 29th August which will be for the previous 4 weeks which covers  the period from 1st August to 29th August. 

During that first 2 weeks of that period you were claiming UC, which is the reason for the deduction. 

Thanks for the actual explanation.

As I said I was expecting a cut-off on the 31st in any case with only half my usual monthly payment being made after my final AP. Unfortunately I was led to believe somewhat otherwise but hey-ho.

I won't miss UC at all but I must say my WC was absolutely brilliant, pretty much leaving me alone apart from a mandatory and perfunctory fortnightly telephone appointment.