Terms & Conditions

[swatts]

Clmt is a grandmother aged 61 who receives child benefit for her granddaughter, who lives with her. This is a non Pension Credit claim. The child’s father pays maintenance of £100 per month to the grandmother for his daughter.
My question is: how much of this maintenance should be disregarded? We feel that it should be a total disregard (the clmt being over 60) but our IT system is disregarding £15pw (family premium in applicable amount).
Perhaps our parameters are not set correctly……………..
Thanks for your help.

[Anonymous]

I think you are right. Reg 29(1)(o) says that income in a non-Pension Credit case includes maintenance intended to support the claimant personally, rather than any dependant children. So maintenace that is specifically intended as child maintenance is fully disregarded.

Schedule 5, para 20 allows for a further disregard of £15 a week from adult maintenance where there is a Family Premium, which seems to me to be very generous double-counting, but that’s what it says.

So if your system cannot differentiate between the two kinds of maintenance for a 60+ claim then yes, there is a problem with the parameters.

[Author]

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