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Elderly parents

Help with finances for elderly parents - where to start?

3 replies

PollyPerky · 06/04/2016 09:10

Not sure if this is the right board here but here goes...

I know my mum can ask the CAB and various agencies but meanwhile...

my dad is in ill health and the chances are he will die before my mum (they are both 90-ish.)

I'm worried about her income if she is left on her own and if she will even be able to afford to remain in their (small) home. They don't have much savings.

At the moment she gets a very small pension which is evidently a result of my dad's NI contributions. It's not as much as a single person's pension.

When my dad dies, they will lose all of his state pension (he gets 2- including a 2nd top up pension) and half his company pension.

I ASSUME all she will get is the single person's pension plus 50% of my dad's company pension. She will get a discount of 25% on council tax.

Is there anything she / we ought to do or find out sooner rather than later?

OP posts:
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thesandwich · 09/04/2016 21:52

It would be worth getting advice from age uk or cab. Do you have power of attorney? Do they have up to date wills? Really held with admin.

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whataboutbob · 11/04/2016 13:08

You don't say whether she owns the home or rents. Also what state of health she is in, which would affect some benefits she might be entitled eg attendance allowance if she needs help with activities of daily life. Bear in mind that councils do not want to make people homeless only to have to re house them, so if she is in a council flat she should be safe as it would be pointless for them to evict her.
I agree with sandwich it never hurts to have Power of Attorney and in most cases it saves you a load of grief later down the line, when people can no longer manage their affairs (if it gets to that point).

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grannygoat · 11/04/2016 17:03

Have you looked into pension credit? There is a calculator on //www.gov.uk
From your post I would think she would be entitled, and it brings automatic benefits in terms of council tax, etc

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