Partner reaching state pension age help plz

lillian2

My partner has suffered Chronic Schizophrenia all his life. He has never been fit to work and spent most of his life sectioned in hospitals since he was 25yrs.
I live with him and i am his fulltime carer.
The last 2 years he has been diagnosed with young onset Alzhiemiers.
He is very unwell and the situation is challenging to the extent irs makeing me ill trying to cope with it all.
At present we have a jount UC claim.
My partner get LCWRA.
And PIP enchanced living and standard mobility.
I claim carers allowance.
Can anyone please help me , please any advice welcome my heads going to burst.
He reaches state pension age in august.
But i do not reach state pension age until next year july.
Im really worn out trying to find the right way to go 
Sorry for long post 
Any help much apprieciated.
Thankyou .

poppy123456

He will need to make sure he claims his State pension, which is usually about 4 months before. 

You will be known as a mixed aged couple and your UC claim will continue but his state pension will be deducted in full from any UC entitlement. 

Once he reaches that age he must report the changes to UC because they don't always notice when someone has reached this age and if they don't you'll end up with an overpayment for UC.

You mention claiming carers allowance for looking after him but this is just deducted in full from your UC. Please make sure that your UC also includes the carers element. It's not automatically paid even when you're claiming CA. 

You will need to claim state pension yourself 4 months before you reach that age. Your UC will then stop. When the time comes you can check entitlement to Pension Credit but whether there's any entitlement will depend on your joint circumstances. 

lillian2

Thankyou so much poppy123456
Will he loose his lcwra element also from uc  because hes pension age? 
Thankyou so much.

poppy123456

You're welcome. No, the LCWRA element will continue because it's part of UC and you'll be  known as a mixed aged couple. Your overall financial situation will not change because the state pension is just deducted in full. 

lillian2

So thankful for your help i was so worried i wouldnt be able to manage financially.
I look after him 24/7 with Alzhiemiers its relentless.
I have breast cancer myself but ive always been to scared to claim pip to and help me with my anxiety, pain on chest wall,  taxis and special bras etc because i claim carers. 
I worn out with no help what so ever from services.
Am i right my carers stops at my presion age ?
Thankyou once again im so grateful.

poppy123456

You're very welcome. Have you ever referred him for a needs assessment from your local Authority? Caring for someone by yourself like this definitely isn't easy and even worse when you have health conditions yourself. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/social-care-and-support-guide/help-from-social-services-and-charities/getting-a-needs-assessment/

Claiming carers allowance doesn't mean you won't be entitled to PIP. Whether there's any entitlement will depend on how your conditions affect you. Assuming you're not living in Scotland (then it would be ADP) you should consider starting a claim for yourself before you reach state pension age. Once you reach this age it would be Attendance Allowance and there's no mobility part to that. 

When you reach state pension age, carers allowance is treated as an overlapping benefit. If your state pension is more than the carers allowance you won't receive payment. Instead you will have an underlying entitlement to it, which could mean there will be some entitlement to Pension Credit but that will depend on your joint circumstances once you reach pension age. 

lillian2

Thankyou so much poppy123456
Your help has been invaluable to me.
Very much apprieciated.

poppy123456

I'm glad I was able to help! 

Albus_Scope

Heya @lillian2 and welcome to the community.

It's great to see Poppy has been able to help you. I just wanted to stop in and say hi.  

lillian2

A million thanks 🙏

lillian2

Thankyou so much @Albus , i am really so glad for all the support. Im really on my own with all this, so the community and scope website is amazing 
Thankyou ever so much.
And a big Hello to all 🙏

mrsBB

Hi Lillian2

Just wanted to say hi and to say if you feel able please consider applying for PIP yourself and as Poppy said reach out to your local authority. You need time to look after you, the local authority could help you do that. Take care x

lillian2

Hi @mrsBB thankyou i will, i can look after my partner in the home but im in constant pain, but i was always afraid dwp would say well how can she care and need pip herself. Well truth is i have to carw as we have no family or children left living. So i try get on with it best way i can.
Dwp frighten me all the time.
But services know of my partners condition but are of little help. 
Im afraid if i claim pip they may stop my carers.
And i truely am not well enough myself, nor could i leave my partner alone as most of the time he is confused and aggitated.
But i will try for pip now and hope they dont question how i can do both. Because it really is a struggle looking after him, i thank you so much for your kind reply.

lillian2

Good Afternoon, in connection with my above post, i wondered if anyone could advise me on my partners Pension and Pip times.
His PIP was a 5 year award which was up for renewal Nov 2023.
Dwp have the renewal form and all evidence .
I have heard nothing since they sent a photo of recieving the renewal documents.
My question is as my partener is 66yrs in Aug this year.
Should i wait for them to contact me by letter or at 66yrs will it stop me being able to do a mandatory appeal should they refuse his Pip? .
He has been on pip all his life but i know it ceases at 66yrs , but continues if still awarded?.
Also he has recieved his forms for claim your state pension.
Does he have to do this now or can he do it nearer his birthday month of Aug, as he is very unwell at present to do this.
Thankyou so much for any advise. 

poppy123456

PIP will not end once he reaches state pension age. There are very long delays with review decisions at the moment and some are waiting longer than 1 year for a decision. His current award will continue until a decision is made on the review. 

The form for state pension should be completed as soon as possible. If you are able to do that form him then you can but he will need to sign the form. 

lillian2

Thankyou so much for the advise@poppy123456
So glad i found Scope amazing support for me.

mrsBB

Hi Lillian2
sorry for the delay in getting back to you, I have health issues that get right on my nerves at times 🤣 I cannot type for days at a time when my head says yes but my hands say nope. 

I hope you have been able to find just a little time for yourself ? I know you are in a really difficult situation but you need to look after yourself in order to be able to help hubby. I know you now have the pension form and other things you need to do, when you have done and sent the form take a little breather and try and relax a little. 

Wish there was more I could do or say, you are coping with so much. I am glad you found this safe place to het excellent help with the benefit questions etc, one less thing to stress about. Take good care, we are all here to listen whenever you need to chat xxx

lillian2

Thankyou so much @mrsBB for your kind words it makes me feel less alone copeing with everything.
I am also so sorry you are suffering with your own health issues, i hope you get some relief soon.
Take care of yourself too and many thanks for brightening my day 🙏

mrsBB

You are very welcome lillian2, I hope you find some relief soon too. We all suffer a lot in one way or another but with this lovely community we have here we can all help each other especially when times are really hard. Take care and sending you lots of healing hugs xx