Army Pension after Dads death

AnonieMouse

Hi, my Dad died almost 2 years ago and he was in receipt of an army pension. The pension company sent my brother and I out forms to fill in, which we did and returned.

They sent more forms and asked for confirmation from our GP about our medical conditions as we are both in our 50s. 

The GP wrote back and told them my symptoms had only been present for 6 months. (useless)
I have M.E, Fibromyalgia, ADHD and Autism. the liklihood is that by the time I can get an autism assessment I will be long dead. 

I have a diagnosis of the M.E, Fibro and only got my diagnosis for the ADHD privately and now have shared care with my doctors. 
ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder which is present from birth. Therefore I am (furious with my GP) able to prove that I have severe disability on that count as I have combined Severe ADHD, 
This is hard proof my symptoms began before the 6month period the GP claimed. 

I have never really been able to manage working and for most of my life have limped along in total burnout for the entirety of it, so 16 hours a week was all I could manage. 

From what I understand this should qualify me for the army pension.

My question is, As i am in receipt of PIP and UC (lcwra) and can no longer work. what  would the repercussions be if I was claiming his pension and how would it affect those things? 
I do not know what kind of pension he had - nor how i would find out.

please bear in mind I have delayed processing and often struggle to understand large amounts of complex information, so if you are kind enough to reply to me, I would appreciate it if you could wriie it in a very simplified way that i could understand better. 

additional information
I live in Northern Ireland

thank you  

Brie

I would guess that if you received a pension of any sort it would be considered income and therefore effect what you received from UC.  PIP is not income related so therefore I believe would not be effected.  

To find out what kind of pension he had and what you might receive you would need to contact the pension administrator.  Likely at the same address where you sent the forms they needed.

AnonieMouse

Brie said:

I would guess that if you received a pension of any sort it would be considered income and therefore effect what you received from UC.  PIP is not income related so therefore I believe would not be effected.  

To find out what kind of pension he had and what you might receive you would need to contact the pension administrator.  Likely at the same address where you sent the forms they needed.

Thank you, I am not good with financial things at all. So I don't know if this is even worth the effort to pursue in all honesty. I am always wary of tipping the apple cart - so to speak. However I am not doing well having to deal with the complexities of UC and would prefer a more stable income especially as I have extra needs and UC and PIP are not covering them. Also the whole welfare reform thing is frightening so I desperately need to understand the consequences before I move forwards.

Thank you so much for your response.

Marcon

AnonieMouse said:

Brie said:

I would guess that if you received a pension of any sort it would be considered income and therefore effect what you received from UC.  PIP is not income related so therefore I believe would not be effected.  

To find out what kind of pension he had and what you might receive you would need to contact the pension administrator.  Likely at the same address where you sent the forms they needed.

Thank you, I am not good with financial things at all. So I don't know if this is even worth the effort to pursue in all honesty. I am always wary of tipping the apple cart - so to speak. However I am not doing well having to deal with the complexities of UC and would prefer a more stable income especially as I have extra needs and UC and PIP are not covering them. Also the whole welfare reform thing is frightening so I desperately need to understand the consequences before I move forwards.

Thank you so much for your response.

Have you asked Citizens Advice for help? They may be best placed to assist: https://www.communityni.org/organisation/citizens-advice-northern-ireland

Silvertabby

My sympathies 

Unfortunately, the rules regarding the payment of children's pensions are quite specific.  In view of your age, your father must have been at least in his 70s when he died, and so would have had to have been a member of the AFPS75 version of the scheme.

To be eligible for a pension, you must:

Be a child of a marriage that took place before your dad left the Army.

You must be permanently incapacitated due to a disability suffered before the age of 16, as evidenced by medical reports 

From what you have said, it would appear that you won't qualify for an Army dependant's pension, but I would suggest that you contact the British Legion pension experts, who may be able to tell you what other benefits you may be entitled to.