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Pension Credit & Savings Help
JDaws
Posts: 11 Forumite
Okay, so my severely disabled 70+ year old mother has just had her pension credit cut almost in half as a result of 12k she has in her accounts.
Now to let you understand, she has this much money because she's been house-bound for several months after damaging her back and being hospitalized has not been taking her pension out of the bank, so that's roughly 2k to 3k that would normally not be there (And has since been spent on various support aids for her) as it would have been spent if she had been able to leave the house. That alone would take her down below the 10k limit that would affect her newly cut pension credit.
Another few thousand of that is money she put in an ISA for to save for funeral expenses for when she passes since she doesn't want me having to worry about paying for all that sort of thing as I'm Autistic and have a number of issues with things including numbers, finance and associated matters.
Mum's said if they are going to penalize her for saving for her own funeral, she's as well just spending all that money on improving the quality of her life now, such as buying a mobility scooter, and leaving it for the government to pay for her 'disposal' as she put it.
Is there any way to let the government know and understand that the savings she has/had aren't a fixed constant thing that's always there, and are a result of a set of certain circumstances?
Thanks.
Now to let you understand, she has this much money because she's been house-bound for several months after damaging her back and being hospitalized has not been taking her pension out of the bank, so that's roughly 2k to 3k that would normally not be there (And has since been spent on various support aids for her) as it would have been spent if she had been able to leave the house. That alone would take her down below the 10k limit that would affect her newly cut pension credit.
Another few thousand of that is money she put in an ISA for to save for funeral expenses for when she passes since she doesn't want me having to worry about paying for all that sort of thing as I'm Autistic and have a number of issues with things including numbers, finance and associated matters.
Mum's said if they are going to penalize her for saving for her own funeral, she's as well just spending all that money on improving the quality of her life now, such as buying a mobility scooter, and leaving it for the government to pay for her 'disposal' as she put it.
Is there any way to let the government know and understand that the savings she has/had aren't a fixed constant thing that's always there, and are a result of a set of certain circumstances?
Thanks.
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Comments
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The reason why the money has not been spent is not relevant In how this is treated. As she has access to that money means she still the legal and beneficial owner of that capital.
All pensioners are treated in the same way.
The only way to change it is by a change in legislation.0 -
So the fact that she's now under the 10k limit dosen't matter because she was temporarily over it? That's an interesting system.0
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She needs to inform them that she is now under the limit and they will assess whether her spending is reasonable or not/B]0
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Surely, if it's been spent on aids for her and is now under the limit, it should not be regarded as deprivation of capital and the pension credit could be reinstated??......Gettin' There, Wherever There is......
I have a dodgy "i" key, so ignore spelling errors due to "i" issues, ...I blame Apple
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Good to know.
Have to wonder what the government classifies as reasonable spending though. Food? Clothes? Housing Upkeep/Adaptions For Limited Disabilities? Personal Transport?
Anyone have an idea of what is or isn't considered reasonable? Don't want mum making mistakes.0 -
Extravagant foreign holidays and brand new cars. Age-specific disability definitely wouldn't. Normal day-to-day living costs are also acceptable.
It's common sense. Luxuries are likely to be looked on with a degree of suspicion0 -
Thanks Nannytone, that's good to know that common sense applies here.
Though I think I'll end up seeking citizens advice aid as I just got my mum's paperwork, and it's confusing the heck out of me because for reasons I can't work out, it looks like she's got an INCREASE instead of a CUT which is leaving me scratching my head.
Anyone able to maybe explain this real simple to me? My mum's been getting DWP PC at £44.15 according to her bank statement, but the letters here are chalk full of numbers and sums, but at the very bottom in bold it says "your pension credit is £103.45." and "We will pay you £103.45. a week from June 18 to ."
What? Huh? Help?!0 -
Sounds like an issue with the printing of letters and the merging of information. If your mum calls them, then they can check0
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Thanks all for the answers and help.
It turns out it IS a cut but also an INCREASE as mum wasn't receiving all the pension credit she was entitled, namely for being severely disabled and something else I can't recall off-hand. It's the revised pension credit numbers, which is almost five times more than she was previously getting, that they cut.
So while her new PC amount was cut, she's actually getting more than she was before due to her circumstances.
So hard to understand all of this, but thanks again all.0 -
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