hi people,
I hope I am at the right place if not please let me know.
I have many questions and thoughts going on in my head at the moment so I will just stick to the first two if that is alright with you at the moment.
Mum has eventually asked me to get involved in their financial life. Dad is so proud, that he would never think of asking anyone for help, even me, saying that he can handle anything that the government throw at him.
Well he can't, he is confused and has given up, hence why mum got in touch with me.
Basically all of their problems relate to benefits for the older person and central to that is Pension Credit.
OK a bit of history. Dad is 63 & mum is 69. Dad claims ESA & DLA whilst mum claims the State Pension and AA.
Dad is in the Support Group of ESA and gets high mobility and middle care of DLA. Mum gets high AA.
I know mum has claimed Carers Allowance for dad but doesn't get paid anything as it is for less than her State Pension, so she has an underlying entitlement. Dad is refusing to claim Carers Allowance for mum as he says that he will be worse off if he does.
Having looked at the Pension Credit amounts, it seems that they should get the basic couple rate and the couple rate of disability premium, plus mum would get the carers premium. All in all that would give them a guaranteed income of £366.90 a week.
Dad has said that if he claimed for mum he would lose a half of the disability premium - £58.20, but gain the carers premium of £32.60. This would give them a guaranteed income of £341.30 a week. Is that right and if so why? They live with each other and nothing changes except they would lose £25.60 because dad says that he cares for mum which he does.
To me if this is right it sometimes doesn't pay for husband and wife to claim for each other as they lose out financially.
The second thing is all to do with Universal Credit. When is the best time for them to put a claim for Pension Credit in? I hear that it is coming in in April but rolled out nationally in October. Now dad won't be 65 until June 2014.
Do they claim it now before the new rules of one party not being of pension age and the other is and having to claim UC instead, or should they put off claiming it until after October when UC rules apply. I am thinking of what would be the best financial advice.
If they claimed Pension Credit now, they would, if my calculations are right and turn2us is right, with dad not claiming carers allowance for mum they would get an extra £58 a week, if dad did claim carers allowance for mum that would go down to £32 a week.
Now I don't know what they would get under UC if they waited until October to make a claim. Are there any calculators around that could help?
Thanks for reading
Helen.
I hope I am at the right place if not please let me know.
I have many questions and thoughts going on in my head at the moment so I will just stick to the first two if that is alright with you at the moment.
Mum has eventually asked me to get involved in their financial life. Dad is so proud, that he would never think of asking anyone for help, even me, saying that he can handle anything that the government throw at him.
Well he can't, he is confused and has given up, hence why mum got in touch with me.
Basically all of their problems relate to benefits for the older person and central to that is Pension Credit.
OK a bit of history. Dad is 63 & mum is 69. Dad claims ESA & DLA whilst mum claims the State Pension and AA.
Dad is in the Support Group of ESA and gets high mobility and middle care of DLA. Mum gets high AA.
I know mum has claimed Carers Allowance for dad but doesn't get paid anything as it is for less than her State Pension, so she has an underlying entitlement. Dad is refusing to claim Carers Allowance for mum as he says that he will be worse off if he does.
Having looked at the Pension Credit amounts, it seems that they should get the basic couple rate and the couple rate of disability premium, plus mum would get the carers premium. All in all that would give them a guaranteed income of £366.90 a week.
Dad has said that if he claimed for mum he would lose a half of the disability premium - £58.20, but gain the carers premium of £32.60. This would give them a guaranteed income of £341.30 a week. Is that right and if so why? They live with each other and nothing changes except they would lose £25.60 because dad says that he cares for mum which he does.
To me if this is right it sometimes doesn't pay for husband and wife to claim for each other as they lose out financially.
The second thing is all to do with Universal Credit. When is the best time for them to put a claim for Pension Credit in? I hear that it is coming in in April but rolled out nationally in October. Now dad won't be 65 until June 2014.
Do they claim it now before the new rules of one party not being of pension age and the other is and having to claim UC instead, or should they put off claiming it until after October when UC rules apply. I am thinking of what would be the best financial advice.
If they claimed Pension Credit now, they would, if my calculations are right and turn2us is right, with dad not claiming carers allowance for mum they would get an extra £58 a week, if dad did claim carers allowance for mum that would go down to £32 a week.
Now I don't know what they would get under UC if they waited until October to make a claim. Are there any calculators around that could help?
Thanks for reading
Helen.