Changes to Pension Credit.

[HelenaDove]

From 15 May Pension Credit couple rate will only be paid if both are over 65

twitter.com/JosephineCumbo/status/1084920673296961536

www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2019-01-14/HCWS1249/

for new claimants.

So if one couple is under SPA and the other over SPA the latter will be classed as being of working age until the former is over 65.

universalcreditsuffer.com/2019/01/15/dwp-sneaks-in-7300-cut-to-pension-credit-couples-with-a-working-age-member/

Thanks, Helena,

Just seen this pop up on my twitter feed. Thanks for links as this is going to affect people I know.

Nicely rolled out with the appeasements by Rudd.

So say, a woman is a decade younger than her pensionable partner, she has to make a claim for UC - her partner will lose his pension and pension credit? Therefore as a couple they'll revert to UC amount for a couple?

I never knew it was possible to claim if one was younger than SPA! It makes complete sense that both have to be over SPA, as if they are not, the younger is of working age and shouldn’t be classed as not.

Cloudsurfing,

My understanding is that once a person reaches SPA, then their state pension is payable. The younger member of the couple will continue to work. If a change to the working age (WA) say redundancy caused a need to claim UC, then the UC claimant would have to include the SPA person in the claim - thus making the UC claim a joint one losing the pension credit.

I need to read more of Helena's links - somewhat blurry eyed.

Having read further, Cloudsurfing, you're correct.

I wasn't aware either. But - my concern is that if the WA person became unable to work, would the SPA person then lose their pension.

Thanks for the heads up on this. I volunteer at citizens advice but been off for a few days. I wonder what other news has been buried.

Absentwomen by the looks of it they wouldn’t lose their pension. It’s the couples pension credit which is being affected, which is different from state pension

Thanks, Cloudsurfing. That makes sense now. That'll teach me for reading before coffee and putting on my reading glasses.

It's still a blow. Financially.

When the flat rate pension comes in (has it already?) will people still get pension credit? What will happen to people who haven’t paid sufficient years of NI to get a full state pension? I

Will this apply to bedroom tax as well ie they will be treated as working age and liable to reduction of housing benefit for spare bedrooms rather than pensioners where bedroom tax does not apply?

I can't be certain, ElinoristhenewEdid, but if a working age person has to make a claim for UC, under occupancy may well be taken into consideration when assessing th e claim for housing costs. It's a good question though. (Although I did read that existing clamaints of Pension Credit will not be affected)

Maybe Helena will know.

Im 23 years younger than DH In a lot of cases the younger spouse becomes the older spouses carer. This is the position i am in.

Using our age gap as an example i wouldnt be SPA until i am 67 as i was born in "73.

So DH would be classed as being of working age for Pension Credit purposes until he is 90 NINETY. And living on a lower rate until then.

Ive already seen nasty comments on Twitter like how its our own fault as we should stick to ppl our own age. Nice.

Well i cant help who i fell for back in 1992 when this didnt even exist..

This is going to hit older people and their spouses carers very very hard and increase the pressure on the social care system. And Adult Social Services.

And only for new claimants? Bad enough on its own but people are already talking about a migration over like UC. People who have already been on PC for a while are already going to be 70 +

They want the younger spouse carers to be available for full time work? Then social care will have to step up because some of us wont be able to do both.

DH has a mobility scooter. Which has to be maintained which costs money to do. And a shed to store it in which he pays a fee to the HA for.

Its not cold cuts in the fridge and sex every night for age gap couples despite what they may think.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/pension-credit-cut-benefits-payment-government-austerity-conservatives-brexit-a8728631.html

www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/government-backtracks-on-pensioner-bedroom-tax-34709

Joe Halewood HSM
‏ @SpeyeJoe
16h16 hours ago
Replying to @JosephineCumbo @stevewebb1

This mixed-age pernsioner couple (as it is known) I first come across in 2012 when @CIH_Housing stated that 70,000 households were in this position and thus could be affected by #bedroomtax So it is more than the cut to PC it would appear as a HB cut (#bedroomtax) may apply too
2 replies 1 retweet 2 likes

www.entitledto.co.uk/blog/2019/january/older-mixed-age-couples-need-to-check-their-benefit-entitlement-now/

My parents could be affected by this - DM is 62 and Dad is 65. So it doesn't have to be a big age gap in all cases. They've been on Pension Credit for a few years (Dad qualified a bit younger than 65, because it was the current women's pension age that was used as qualifying criteria) after DM lost her job due to disability. It would be awful for them to have to go through the stress of ESA WCA assessments, my DM has just had to renew her PIP application and that's been stressful enough. It's tight enough for them on Pension Credit but luckily they get a bit extra through Carer Premium and DM's PIP so that all helps. No private pension at all as they could never afford to put money away. They'd find it a real struggle if they had to claim working age benefits. It's not just the amount of benefit given - Pension Credit is less stressful to claim in a lot of ways. There are no assessments, Jobcentre interviews, renewals, there is smooth passporting to things like council tax reduction, you can have a bit more in savings, and overall the helplines are nicer to deal with IME.

DM has considered coming off Pension Credit to attempt some light p/t work as she gets quite isolated at home. But that could be disastrous for them if it didn't work out, because they wouldn't be able to claim Pension Credit again, once these changes have come into place. I think I am going to have to advise her to only consider things like voluntary work, or social groups, or craft classes instead. It is too much of a risk to lose their Pension Credit entitlement.

www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jan/15/benefit-rule-changes-could-cost-pensioners-in-uk-thousands-a-year-pension-credit

Thousands of poorer UK pensioners who have partners of working age could lose up to £7,000 a year in top-ups as a result of imminent rule changes that will require them to claim universal credit as a couple.

Changes slipped out on Monday night by the Department for Work and Pensions mean that from 15 May, new pensioners whose partners are younger than the state retirement age of 65 can no longer claim a means-tested top-up called pension credit.

Instead they will be forced to claim the much less generous universal credit alongside their younger partners.

The couple rate of universal credit is £114.81 a week compared with £255.25 for a couple receiving pension credit. This amounts to a potential loss of £7,320 a year.
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Age UK described the change as a “substantial stealth cut” and said it could have a devastating effect on the health and wellbeing of some older people and increase the numbers of pensioners in poverty.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director, said: “It is by no means unusual for one partner to be slightly older than the other within relationships and the bigger the age gap between them, the more long-lasting the adverse impact on them will be because of this proposed change.

“That’s why this government policy has been dubbed ‘the toy boy tax’ by some – but that’s not to trivialise the really serious impact it is likely to have on anyone unlucky enough to be subjected to it. For some, the impact will be truly devastating. The government should think again.”
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The scale of the potential losses faced by couples could put pressure on existing relationships, say experts, and may persuade them that they cannot afford to marry or move in together.

The average age gap for mixed-age couples is 2.6 years, meaning the cash loss incurred before the younger partner becomes old enough to claim pension credit could be £19,000. Where the gap is greater the potential total lost will be more.

Age UK said pensioners may find themselves in the “absurd position” of being financially better off if they split up and live apart from their partner.

A single person who claims the top-up is eligible for £167.25 a week in pension credit, meaning that in theory a pensioner will be better off staying “solo” for benefit purposes rather than claiming with a partner.

Gareth Morgan, a benefits expert, said a single person getting pension credit who forms a relationship with a person of working age would lose their entitlement to that benefit and would have to claim universal credit as a couple.

However, if they were to separate again, even if they remained living in the same home but as separate households, their total incomes would increase substantially. This is because a single person’s pension credit combined with a single person’s universal credit amounts to more than a couple’s universal credit payment.

“It would be surprising if the DWP didn’t have to make substantial numbers of assessments about the genuineness of relationship breakdowns,” said Morgan.

“It would be surprising if the DWP didn’t have to make substantial numbers of assessments about the genuineness of relationship breakdowns,” said Morgan.

Currently, people who reach retirement age and are eligible can claim pension credit regardless of the age of their partner. In future they will have to wait until their partner also reaches 65, although the state retirement age will be increased to 66 in October 2020.

Couples with one partner under state pension age who are already in receipt of pension credit will be unaffected. But they will be moved to the new system if their circumstances change, such as a change of address, or even if the pensioner partner goes abroad for longer than a month.

If a mixed-age couple claim universal credit, the pensioner partner will not be required to look for work as a condition, unlike working-age claimants. The government says the younger partner’s claimant conditions will be tailored to meet the couple’s circumstances.

The pension credit change has been in place since the Welfare Reform Act 2012, but ministers put off its introduction until universal credit was fully rolled out. Last month universal credit moved into every Jobcentre Plus area of the UK

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3480297-Govt-unveils-restrictions-to-pension-credit-for-couples?watched=1&msgid=84158392#84158392

Thanks for posting.

No worries @Babyroobs

This is an old post of mine from another thread which explains our life before PC.

HelenaDove Mon 30-Jan-17 01:16:25

Im a full time carer for my DH who had a heart attack 11 years ago. He became partially disabled due to this Im his full time carer. Hes now 66 Im now 43

In the years following he had many subsequent angina attacks which required trips to A and E I couldnt afford to go with him He was on IB back then and after rent and council tax were paid and other bills we had £40 a week left to live on. Which had to pay for food AND prescriptions. I couldnt afford to go with him because i couldnt have afforded a taxi back if he was admitted or to sit up at the hospital all night to pay for a bus fare i also couldnt afford. Carers are human We need sleep too.

However im perfectly aware that many health workers may have seen me as heartless so i made sure that all the paramedics who attended knew the reason why i couldnt go with him. It would have meant us going without food or possibly him going without one of his prescriptions. Pre ESA ppl on IB had to pay.