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Attendance allowance and Pension Credit

1967Rosebud

Hi everyone. Hoping someone can help. My mother and father are 88 and 92 respectively. They both receive state pension (no private pensions) and £5 a week pension savings credit in Dads name. They both receive Attendance Allowance. They had a letter from pension credit to say now that dad receives AA (since October 2022) as well as mum (January 2022) they may be entitled to extra pension credit. After a call today we were told they won’t because their Grandson lives with them and although he is on ESA he needs to receive a disability benefit for them to qualify. He is 27 and suffers from a Neurological condition, hence cannot work. I’ve checked his ESA claim and it says he is in the support group and gets £77 living expenses, £17.75 Disability Income Guarantee, £40.60 for support group = £135.35. Do you think the £17.75 “Disability Income Guarantee” means they would qualify for the extra pension credit? Thank you.

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Comments

calcotti

No. ESA is not a disability benefit.

He (the grandson) could look at whether or not he might qualify for PIP. That would boost his income.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/before-claiming/check-you-are-eligible/

If he was awarded the Daily Living component of PIP then mum and dad would become entitled to two Severe Disability Premiums added to the Pension Credit (an extra £139/week). Grandson would also get Severe Disability Premium in his ESA (if nobody receives Carers Allowance or carer element of UC for looking after him).

If mum and dad look after each other for 35 hours a week they could each apply for Carers Allowance. They will not be paid CA but by claiming they would establish an ‘underlying entitlement’ (assuming they haven’t already done this). This would increase the Pension Credit with the addition of carer premiums.

1967Rosebud

@calcotti thank you so much!!

2oldcodgers

If he was awarded the Daily Living component of PIP then mum and dad would become entitled to two Severe Disability Premiums added to the Pension Credit (an extra £139/week). Grandson would also get Severe Disability Premium in his ESA (if nobody receives Carers Allowance or carer element of UC for looking after him).

I never knew that.
We both get a disability award for care and receive the couple Severe Disability Premium in our Pension Credit award.
We look after a granddaughter who has moved in with us as she no longer wants to live with her mum and dad who moved miles away and as such she misses all of her friends.
She is only 16. We provide for her as best we can and she is still in education. There is nothing set down legally you could say that she is a long stay visitor.
I hope that us being charitable would not affect our benefit payments?

ShirleyW

Whilst your Granddaughter is still a child it will not affect your Severe Disability Premiums.

But when she turns 18 and is still living with you, then you will lose them.

calcotti

2oldcodgers said:

If he was awarded the Daily Living component of PIP then mum and dad would become entitled to two Severe Disability Premiums added to the Pension Credit (an extra £139/week). Grandson would also get Severe Disability Premium in his ESA (if nobody receives Carers Allowance or carer element of UC for looking after him).

We both get a disability award for care and receive the couple Severe Disability Premium in our Pension Credit award.
We look after a granddaughter who has moved in with …
She is only 16. We provide for her as best we can and she is still in education.

At the moment she is not affecting your benefits because she is under 18. Once she is over 18 and also has left education your SDPs will be lost if she doesn’t receive a disability benefit.

2oldcodgers said:

There is nothing set down legally you could say that she is a long stay visitor.

There becomes a point when it is reasonable to treat someone as normally living there unless they are responsible for rent or Council Tax elsewhere (which obviously will not apply to her). Where she keeps most of her possessions may also be a consideration.

https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/severe-disability-premium
https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/non-dependants

2oldcodgers

Grief! That is a shock!
Looks like that she will have to get a job when she is 18 and have to compensate us for what we could lose treating it as rent. She is in no way disabled so no claim could be made.
Looks like we are going to have to have a conversation with our daughter and her husband also.
To us all that we ask for is that she is happy, contented and has no undue pressures.

1967Rosebud

@2oldcodgers I hope you can get it sorted out, it sounds like a wonderful thing you have done for your Granddaughter.