Terms & Conditions

[NeilC]

Hi. A pensioner is awarded Guarantee Credit in October. Subsequently he recieves £30, 000 in November, which would make him a Savings Credit case only. Firstly, does he have to notify the Pension Service (as this is not a life change). Secondly, do we have the right to cancel his claim and thirdly, can we only cancel his claim if the Pension Service notifies us with a superceeding decision? Any help would be appreciated as there is some discussion, in our office, as to the correct course of action. Cheers

[Julian Hobson]

I suggest you send a notification (nhb5,7,9 whatever you usually do) to TPS saying £30,000 received, sit back and wait ! You certainly can’t cancel, or suspend, as the actual capital is ignored in GC cases, and until (and if) it affects the GC award you do nothing.

[peterdelamothe]

The £30,000 makes no difference whatsoever to the PC or HB / CTB claim. Wouldn’t matter if it was £30 million. Entitlement will stop in 5 / 7 years when the claim is reassessed.

[Anonymous]

As Peter says, if the guarantee credit remains in payment you must continue to assess Hb on this regardless of any capital.

Your question is answered on the DWP log (http://www.dwp.gov.uk/housingbenefit/publications/2003/pensioncreditr/log.pdf), Capital section question 2. 😮

[Mark]

I don’t think that Peter’s got this one 100% correct. If an Asessed Income Period (AIP) is in force then he’s right. But there are many scenarios where Assessed Income Periods are not set (for example in any case where the pensioner has a partner aged under 60). My understanding is that if an AIP is not in force then all changes to income and capital need to be reported. Therefore, I think the best answer to the original question is that the first thing to do is check whether an AIP has been set. You can tell this from the RAT (even though bizarrely the AIF isn’t there). If an AIP has been set you and the pensioner should do nothing. If an AIP has not been set then you should suspend the claim (because a real question as to entitlement has arisen) and tell the Pension Service what you know or tell the pensioner to tell them (whatever you prefer and whatever your SLA may suggest).

[peterdelamothe]

I would suggest there are very few cases where a short or no AIP has been set rather than “many”.

I also take issue with this idea of just suspending payment. This power is very specific and limited. It should not be used unles the LA has very clear grounds. What if the Pension Service takes 6 months to respond? Subsequent appeal etc. may take a year or so. I do not dispute Mark is right in this instance but it does appear to me from a number of threads that many LA’s are going to suspend first and ask questions latter. Much latter.

[Mark]

I didn’t say there are many cases – I said there are many scenarios. Anyway, I agree with Peter on the general question of suspending. Many LA’s are suspending left right and centre without even realising that the suspension rules in the HB/CTB DMA regs even exist.

[Author]

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