HELP PLEASE!!!

Tarasconais

I am 65. Due to retire in May with a full state pension. My wife is disabled, she currently receives ESA (support group), enhanced PIP care and mobility and I am her carer. She is 63 and not due to 'retire' until 2028, also with a full state pension.
We are in a housing association 'supported living' flat and receiving HB. Does anyone know if I can defer my state pension until my wife receives hers- to keep things simple. I really do not relish the paperwork.

Flugelhorn

you can delay your pension, you will get an increased pension when you do decide to take it. However if it is included in any means testing then they will assume that you are taking at state pension age 

Spoonie_Turtle

Flugelhorn said:

you can delay your pension, you will get an increased pension when you do decide to take it. However if it is included in any means testing then they will assume that you are taking at state pension age 

This will indeed apply if ESA is income-related.

OP do you know what type of ESA your wife receives?  If you're not sure, you can either show us a picture of her ESA letter (redacting any personal details) or tell us how much she receives every fortnight and some of the more experienced members will probably be able to tell you what type it is and whether your pension will affect it.

elsien

Would it not also affect the housing benefit, as that is means tested as well?

Newcad

I think the issue here is the HB.

Once you reach State Pension Age you will become a Mixed Age Couple (MAC).

At that time who's name the HB is in will matter.

In a MAC it is the younger partner who 'counts' for benefits, and so if the HB is in your name then as a MAC you may have to claim Universal Credit instead of HB until your wife also reaches SPA.

I don't think that deferring your state pension makes any difference to that, you are still over State Pension age and your partner under SPA - so as far as I am aware the MAC rules will apply.

Tarasconais

Many thanks all. Yes, the wife's ESA is Income related and she is the 1st named person on the Housing benefit. I think we shall be worse off until she reaches retirement.

Brie

WARNING One thing to remember is that when you do get round to getting your SP do NOT have payments backdated.  I know someone that did this and was told by DWP that she could back date here and get a nice lump sum.  This meant that any benefits she and OH were getting had to be paid back which more than wiped out the lump sum. 

Newcad

Note that your partner being in receipt of IR ESA will mean that deferring your state pension will not attract any increases to build up extra State Pension. (also see below about HB*)

https://www.gov.uk/deferring-state-pension/getting-benefits

Also note that once you are above State Pension Age then any deferred income from any private/works pension that you may have will be counted as 'Notional Income' for Income related benefits, so would affect both the IR ESA and the HB.
ie. When calculating entitlement to IR benefits the private/works pension income that you have deferred will still be treated as if you were getting it.
It is only when you are below State Pension Age that deferred income from a private/works pension is disregarded for IR benefits.

See below about a deferred State Pension and 'Notional Income'

*HB appears to have a few odd rules when it comes to State Pension.
Unlike other IR benefits it does not prevent increases to a deferred State Pension, it seems that's because an
increased SP when you do get it would mean less HB was then payable.

However that oddity with HB will become moot here anyway - Be aware that your are going to be Managed Migrated to UC because of both the IR ESA and the HB. That is almost certain to happen sometime this year
You will both need to claim UC as a couple, even though you will be above SPA you still claim UC as the older partner in a MAC.
The Managed Migration to UC is a slightly different process when you are a MAC:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/universal-credit-if-youre-a-mixed-age-couple-and-get-migration-notice-letters

If you still intend to defer your State Pension, knowing now that defering won't increase payments, then it may be important here whether you reach SPA before you get a Managed Migration notice.
In particular the section in that link about deferred State Pension and Managed Migration:

If you have delayed (‘deferred’) your State Pension
 
If you had delayed taking your pension before you received your Migration Notice, we will not treat your deferred pension as income for 12 assessment periods.

If you then decide to take your pension within this period, it is treated as income.

After 12 assessment periods, the amount of pension you’re entitled to is counted as income, even if you’ve decided not to take it. This is known as ‘notional’ income. This can affect how much Universal Credit you get.

Once you move to Universal Credit, you will not be able to continue building up any:

• extra State Pension
• State Pension lump sum (if you reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016)

That means that if you get your migration notice before you reach SPA then any State Pension you then defer will still be counted as if it were in payment, and your UC reduced accordingly.
It's the date of the migration notice that counts there, not the date that you claim UC.