I see this differently from Julian so maybe someone else can step in and settle it.
I agree with the general thrust that it is definitely worthwhile to extend periods and avoid pensioner renewal claims from now onwards.
I don’t go along with Julian’s analysis of the IS/MIG issue. The way I understood it is that anyone on MIG will be moved automatically onto Pension Credits – they have no choice in this. However, MIG is simply another name for Income Support for pensioners. The only “pensioners getting income support/JSA(IB)” (as opposed to MIG) are those where either:
a) the pensioner is the partner on an Income Support claim of someone under 60, or
b) the pensioner has chosen to continue to sign on for JSA(IB) up to the age of 65 instead of claiming MIG. As far as I know it would only be sensible to do this if you have a deficient NI contributions record.
Is this correct?
