Pension Credit and disregards.

scottleag

ngr49er said:

Thanks for the update.

Now over three weeks since the date they wanted information for and no letter or phone call received. I think even if a letter had been sent we should have received it by now, even allowing for the fact that official letters often arrive a couple of weeks after the date on the letter.  

Newcad

This thread seems to have been continued here: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6642097/strange-pension-credit-payment#latest

scottleag

Bit of a morbid question but it needs to be asked. I've received a funeral expense payment for my late wife's funeral. WRT pension credit does this count as a savings disregard and if so is it permanent or twelve months only?

NedS

Sorry for your loss.

Who did you receive the payment from? Was the payment made to you as a reimbursement for an expense you personally incurred, or was the payment made to your late wife's estate (maybe to you as executor of your wife's estate)?

In either of the above two scenarios, I do not see how any disregard would apply (although I am not an expert of Pension Credit)

scottleag

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81924811#Comment_81924811

Partial reimbursement of expenses incurred

NedS

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81924824#Comment_81924824

If they have simply reimbursed you for an expense you incurred, there would be no disregard. You had the capital, it was not otherwise disregarded, you spent it on an expense and were reimbursed for that expense so have the same amount of capital you started with.

There could be an argument to be made if the original amount of capital falls to be disregarded, whether once reimbursed it should continue to be disregarded, or whether the disregard ended the moment you spent it. I do not know the answer to that.

Was the original amount of capital, from which you paid the funeral expenses, previously disregarded?

TimeLord1

I think The Specific Funeral Disregard: Most benefit systems have a specific rule stating that a payment made to a person to meet the costs of a funeral is disregarded for a set period (often 52 weeks).

Technically, yes. You cannot "disregard" money you no longer hold. However, if the reimbursement is coming from a source that is itself a disregarded type of income (like a government funeral grant), the "new" money carries its own fresh disregard period, regardless of the status of the money you used to bridge the gap.

scottleag

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81924856#Comment_81924856

It's reimbursement for expenses incurred. The original expenditure wasn't specifically disregarded but did reduce capital significantly and still does even after the expenses payment is taken into account. Savings have dropped below the level at which pension credit deductions kicked in

scottleag

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81930514#Comment_81930514

That's very interesting and ties in with what a friend told me about a 12 month disregard applied to the funeral support payment in Scotland which is a different but similar benefit to the the funeral expenses payment in England and Wales. I don't know a) if my friend is correct and b) whether this applies n Engand too.