What benefits is this person entitled too

[Ivechangedmyname11]

My friends mum has recently lost her husband, been married 40 years. She came from another country 40 years ago and only worked 3 of them years, the rest she stayed home. She has never claimed anything, other than child benefit. She is 61.
What will she be able to claim if anything? She is quite worried she will have to go to work, as she has had a heart bypass, and has two metal bars in her legs from where she broke them in a car accident 9 years ago.

Yes she will have to sign on as a working age woman because that's what she is and if she wants support from the benefits system she will need to look for a job. Op can I ask if she was claiming carers allowance for her husband before he died? If so she should get an eight week run on of this after a bereavement..

I assume she will have to look for a job like everyone else. Unless there is a medical reason for her not working for 40 years, but I'm sure the OP would have mentioned it if there had been. I don't know why anyone would expect benefits after not putting anything in to the system, but it seems to be such a common thing.

And plenty of people of her age work, so I don't see why some posters are being mournful about the fact that someone's 40 year holiday is coming to an end!

Perhaps she didn’t work due to her health ?!

Sorry, but why shouldn't she work?

She was not long out of childhood and he was not far off retiring when they married.

^The lady in question knew what she was getting into. She should have made provisions for herself. Why didn’t she work?

Does she not meet the criteria for PIP due to her health issues?

If she asks CA for a benefit check they will usually use one of these websites: entitledto or turn2us.

Is she a British Citizen? If not she will need a habitual residency assessment. If she hasn’t contributed to tax or NI in the past 5 years- she may be found to have job seeker status but not an entitlement to JSA/UC etc

So 40 years ago when they married she was 21 and he was 59. I know that isn't the point of the thread but what on earth!

She should go to citizens' advice bureau. They'll know everything she is able to claim.

Many areas are now full Universal Credit for all new claims. If she's in a UC area, they will work out each element she's entitled to and pay it all together. She will very likely be expected to spend 35 hrs per week looking for work at her age, unless she declares that she's unfair for work and passes an assessment that agrees (not easy). Otherwise it would be claiming JSA or ESA until she finds work or reaches retirement age. If she has any savings over about £6,000 this will reduce or remove entitlement. If she has more than one property she may get nothing (my 62yo ex MIL inherited her mother's house which barred her from claiming benefits after a short period where they discounted it due to being for sale, sadly it hasn't sold yet after 18m and she's now in a lot of debt just to eat. She left her job to care for her mother, against all advice, and she sadly died two months later leaving ex MIL up shit creek til the house sells). She may be able to get other things like council tax benefit, housing benefit (if renting), help mortgage interest loan (39 week waiting period), and PiP if she has ongoing disabilities (after assessment).

The entitledto website is pretty good to put details in and see what she may be able to claim.

Oh, there used to be a widowed parents allowance which was paid for a year - not sure if she has children or what ages they are but may be worth finding out about if relevant? Alternatively it may not even exist any more given all the benefit changes recently. Worth checking though?

Actually, I’m going to report my own post because that was massively judgmental - of him, rather than her.

I stand by that they as a couple had 40 years to sort of this inevitable situation though.

@Whollyfather
CAB use there own benefit check system. It's more in depth than turn2us or entitledto.
We would usually only use our own system as it was developed for us and is pretty accurate.

It’s Bereavement Support Payment since April 2017, and only applies where the deceased was below pension age. At 99, I think he went a bit over.

Ellisandra- I think it's the person left behind who needs to be under pension age to get Bereavement support payments.

You’re right Babyroots - thanks for the correction!

What nationality is she? It makes a difference. The rules are different for EU and non-EU citizens.

There were a few health issues mentioned in the op, it’s not pleasant to refer to a “40 year holiday” as we have no idea of her other circumstances. After 40 years out of work, I can imagine it wouldn’t be easy to return to the workplace though.

She is a UK citizen, shes had 7 heart attacks in the past 12 Years, 2 broken legs and she can barely walk anymore. She has anxiety and depression.
Didnt really ask anyone to input about their age difference, you couldnt of found a better couple.
Thanks for the useful advice.

Look into the habitual residence test OP. She may well be subject to it despite the lengthy residence here.

Op - she could also look at PIP - is there any reason she hasn't already applied for this with what sound like serious health conditions ? if she has to apply for Universal credit she would hopefully be awarded limited capability for work and if awarded the element for no work requirments at all ( equivalent to the old support group of ESA ) then she would get extra money on her UC.

Did he have an occupational pension, did he buy an annuity at any time that included a spousal element, and did he leave any assets, especially a property?

She should call to claim Bereavement Support payment (It's £100 a month for 18 months) and whilst on the phone they can go through other things she may be entitled too. She should call that claim line quickly as they will only backdate a maximum of 3 months.

ESA and PIP are the two health related ones. How to claim them will depend if her area is a Universal Credit area or not.