A claimant who receives the guarantee credit (whether or not this is topped up by the savings credit) will automatically qualify for full housing benefit (and, where appropriate, council tax benefit), but this will need to be the subject of a separate claim. Recipients of the guarantee credit are not subject to the usual £16,000 capital rule for these benefits.
The remarkable effect of the SPCA 2002 provisions is that where the claimant receives a windfall increase during the period of the award, any such increases are disregarded (SPCA 2002, s.7(5)) and accordingly do not give rise to any obligation to report such a change to the Department. According to Mr Ian McCartney M.P., then Minster for Pensions:
“Let us be clear about this: if a pensioner wins the lottery in the second week of his or her assessed income period, the increase in capital, be it £10 or £1 million, will not be reflected in the pension credit entitlement until the end of the assessed income period – in four years and 50 weeks’ time… We can live with ignoring a few individuals’ good fortune for the sake of simplification for the overwhelming majority of pensioners” (Standing Committee A, cols. 166 and 184).
In the event, however, that the pensioner’s income falls, a fresh assessment can be applied for ( s.8 ). In addition, the normal powers to effect a revision of an initial decision under s.9 of the SSA 1998 remain in place (SPCA 2002, s.7( 8 )).
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