Any help after retirement?

[cosietea]

My dad is retired as of today due to a cancer diagnosis which is going to be life shortening ( low chance of cure)

My mum is still working part time but I'm not sure on her salary ( possibly low though)

They own the house outright

He currently receives state pension

Is he eligible for any benefits of financial support of? Due to his age or illness?

Thanks

www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators

Sorry to hear about your dad. These are quite useful, but you'd need to know how much your mum earns.

Sorry about your dad. He might be entitled to attendance allowance OP.

If he's under 65 he will be able to claim PIP.
It's not means tested..
If his diagnosis is terminal he will receive it straight away.
I'm sorry to hear this.. sending healing thoughts.

He may be entitled to Attendance Allowance depending on his health.

If he's receiving the state pension, he may be eligible for attendance allowance (the older persons version of pip) but that will be dependent on disabilities not diagnosis. Whether they are eligible for any other benefits will be dependent both on total income and savings. If he's end of life there's different rules for applying but you haven't indicated that.

Really sorry for your bad news

Thanks everyone for your nice words

He is not end it life. Only recently diagnosed but metastatic already and so they are offering treatment to control rather than cure and are aiming to give him a few years if he's lucky. We are not near the end thankfully, but I'm very aware we will be at some point.

Once he starts treatment and surgery then he may well become disabled but at the moment he's active.

I will check out the calculator

Reading your update I think your dad should apply for Attendance Allowance as the cancer is Metastatic. This is hard to write but the AA people may look at this as terminal cancer and then there would be a much shorter form to fill in or you will only have fill in part of the form.
Phone up and request the form and it will be backdated for the day you phoned if your dad is eligible.

@Wimbledoner thank you

Is he under the palliative care team? If not I strongly recommend that you ask for a referral. They are not just for end of life, they look after people who aren't expected to recover but who may have months or years left.

They will organise things like attendance allowance, fast track blue badge etc for you.

If your dad is awarded Attendance Allowance (which sounds likely), your mum may be entitled to Carer's Allowance depending on her earnings and some other criteria. They may also be entitled to Universal Credit as a couple, depending on income and savings. Macmillan are quite useful for advice on benefits under these circumstances.

I agree claim attendance allowance and ask MacMillan. Also look at council tax reduction https://www.gov.uk/council-tax/discounts-for-disabled-people

Definitely AA, ask if they would be willing to givebh an SR1 which will guarantee the higher rate of about £101 a week. A GP or consultant can do this if they agree. It states that they “wouldn’t be surprised if he was to not to be alive in 12 months” now rather than the old DS1500 which was expected to be dead within 5 months so the wording is better now, a lot of GPs are not aware of this change either. Sorry for the horrible wording in this but it’s hard to write it any other way.

Attendance Allowance is the disability benefit he may be able to claim but he would need to have difficulties with personal care ( things like washing, dressing, moving around the home, managing medications) several times a day or night to qualify and he must have had difficulties for at least six months so may not apply yet unless he qualifies under SR1 form as others have mentioned.. If your mum is under state pension age then the only means tested benefit possibly available to them is universal credit but if mum still working and dad getting state pension and no rent to pay then it may be very little unless your dad gets the LCWRA element added. Obviously if your mum has to give up work or reduce hours then this may make them more likely to qualify for UC.

Sorry should also have said to look at council tax reduction , they may be eligible for a small amount depending on wife's earnings.
Does he not have any private pensions he can cash in ?

Sorry just to mention also with UC. they are unlikely to get much without the LCWRA element for your dad being added to the claim. If this is added then your mum gets a work allowance added meaning that the first £404 of her earnings is disregarded before her earnings reduce their total UC. The easiest way of getting LCWRA added to a Uc claim for your dad is to get Attendance Allowance in place, as this will then get him the LCWRA although there is still a 3 month wait for LCWRA to be added unless special rules ( SR1). If Attendance allowance awarded then mum can also get a carers element added to a Uc claim. Macmillan benefits team or an organisation like Age Uk will be able to guide you through it to maximise a UC claim. Overall any entitlement to Uc will still depend on savings, your mum's earnings and how much state pension your dad gets. They will not be able yo claim UC with earnings over 16k and anything between 6k and 16k will reduce it.

Bear in mind that it wouldn't be surprising if any older person passed away within 12 months - unexpected perhaps, but hardly surprising.

If your DD is of state pension age, he should apply for this
It is not means tested
https://www.gov.uk/attendance-allowance

Hi cosietea, I’m really sorry about your dad’s diagnosis. You must all be reeling.

Speak to Macmillan, they really helped me when I was diagnosed and organised a blue badge, PIP and ESA (I’m under pension age so these may not apply to your dad). They told me who to phone, what forms to ask for (for the PIP and ESA) which I completed and sent on to them. They checked them over to make sure everything necessary was included then forwarded them on. He may also be entitled to council tax reduction, reduced or free bus or train passes and free prescriptions. Honestly, I would have had no idea that I was entitled to any of this without them and would have really been struggling. I think they have a financial advisor or benefits person who is the one you should speak to. I hope they can help you.

This.