£19,000 benefits cut for pensioners
by Gareth Morgan on January 14, 2019
In a sneaky announcement the Government have chosen the evening before Brexit vote day for a written announcement that the rules about mixed age couples – will come into force on May 15th. This means that to claim Pension Credit in a couple, the youngest person has to be over state pension age. Loss over the 2.6 year average age difference, because of the lower working age benefit rates, will be about £19,000. For those with greater differences in age, it could be much, much more.
In 2012, Parliament voted to modernise the welfare system to ensure that couples, where one person is of working age and the other person is over state pension age, access support, where it is needed, through the working age benefit regime. This replaces the previous system whereby the household could access either Pension Credit and pension age Housing Benefit, or working-age benefits.
Pension Credit is designed to provide long-term support for pensioner households who are no longer economically active. It is not designed to support working age claimants. This change will ensure that the same work incentives apply to the younger partner as apply to other people of the same age, and taxpayer support is directed where it is needed most.
I set out to Parliament last year that this change would be implemented once Universal Credit was available nationally for new claims. Today I can confirm that this change will be introduced from 15th May 2019. The change is being brought into effect in Great Britain through a Commencement Order[1] under the Welfare Reform Act 2012. There will be an equivalent Order to introduce the change for Northern Ireland.
https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2019-01-14/HCWS1249/
I wrote about this in my second post in this blog in 2011 – https://benefitsinthefuture.com/the-new-anti-trophy-wife-measures-in-pension-credit/ – but had hoped that it had been forgotten.
As I said in that post, there’s a need for a good old fashioned take-up campaign now.
Couples who are already on Pension Credit, whatever their ages, won’t be moved onto working age benefits in May; so now’s the time for them to claim. Pension Credit is a badly underclaimed benefit.
There will be all sorts of ramifications in the future, because of the new rule. Just one example: A single pensioner, getting Pension Credit, who forms a relationship with a younger person, will be moved onto working age benefits. That means that the previous income, for one person, will be replaced by a lot less money – but now it will be for two.
Comments
Another example:
There are different rules as to what constitutes a couple for SPC and UC. For example, an absence of 6 months is enough to be considered single for UC but not for SPC.
So, a pensioner who is a member of a mixed-age couple for SPC purposes, but is single for UC purposes will not be able to claim either benefit!
They refused me this 11 months ago, saying I can’t claim pension credits from my husbands contributions who died in Feb. I’m a waspie and should be getting my pension this April, but I now have to wait another six years, for both my pension and any credits due to me from my husbands, and another thing they sneaked through a few years ago. They abolished Widows pension. No such thing now! They are a den of THIEVES
I hope you claimed bereavement benefits
Non-one can claim pension credits from a spouse’s contributions. They aren’t actually anything to do with the state pension or contributions. They are simply a top-up available to those of pensionable age who are on a low income. You also aren’t due any “credits” from your husband’s state pension I’m afraid. Everyone of us (and I too at 64yrs old am long past when I should have been getting my pension) is now treated as an individual when it comes to the state pension. Pension credit, on the other hand, is calculated on the income of a couple (or individual obviously if you are single/widowed/divorced) and what is now happening is that BOTH parties have to be over state pension age to qualify.
Not strictly correct. I am a waspi with 48 years contributions. My husband had only 27 years as we shared child care duties and he did more home time than me. We used the family protection scheme to transfer 17 years where I had a full year and he did not to top up his pension. This took about a year with letters going back and fwd with HMRC and DWP. As he was named on the child benefit book back to the 70’s we got his pension increased by £25bper week and backdated.
Who gets pension credits and why is it when you haven’t paid in enough
[…] means that from May couples will be forced to claim Universal Credit instead. According to Gareth Morgan from the website; Benefits in The Future, who first picked this up, this will see couples lose approximately £7300 a year because of the difference in benefit […]
This is disgusting. So think on when these “trophy partners” put their older partners into care rather than look after them. It will cost the government a damn sight more than the pension credit payment to pay for care.
I will still get my fully paid for State Pension, what this is for those applying for top up payments if I read it correctly. This affects the poorest pensioners of course as does any changes to State Benefits which are all designed to cut the assistance the state pays reducing the benefits bill.
Once again it seems if one already has a pension and on Pension Credit you are one of the lucky ones.
Government did the same with Mortgage Interest support paying it as a loan now. Does that mean if someone in private let or council rent gets housing benefit then starts work they have to pay back this money. Pete with mortgages no longer entitled to housing benefit. Only sector not to get help to stay in their home. Sneaked through in 2016 the same way.
No paying back. The benefit is assessed on a week by week entitlement.