Advice on benefit entitlement for my husband who took early retirement and is now unwell

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edwards30

Hi advice please
My husband took early retirement at 56 and a half years of age ......wanted a break from work and attended the job centre for advice.He was told that unless he was  actively seeking employment he wasn't entitled to any benefits.He asked about keeping his n.i.contrubutions being paid and he was told he would have to pay then himself voluntarily. As we have never claimed benefits we were unaware he could sign on not take payment but have his n.i.paid for him.Husband health detiorated and we claimed disability benefits but not entitled as no n.i.paid in last 2 years .....I complained to benefits about bed advice and could it be reimbursed and they said no they did nothing wrong.n.i is now being paid by benefits due to husbands duality but we get mo benefits.If we had been given tbe advice to sign on and nit take payment his n.i.would have been paid and getting the benefit we are entitled to .....any advice 

calcotti

edwards30 said:..As we have never claimed benefits we were unaware he could sign on not take payment but have his n.i.paid for him...

He would have needed to be actively seeking work for that to happen so, as he didn't want to look for work he hasn't missed out.

edwards30 said:

Husband health detiorated and we claimed disability benefits but not entitled as no n.i.paid in last 2 years 

That sounds as if he applied for ESA which is contribution based and for people who have a health condition limiting their ability to work. Even if he had paid voluntary Class 3 contributions this would not have helped with claiming ESA. The relevant disability benefit to look at, which is not means tested and does not require NI contributions, is PIP (see below). 

edwards30 said: n.i is now being paid by benefits due to husbands duality (I assume this should read disability)

I assume this is NI credits on grounds of Limited Capability for Work following the ESA claim.

Have a look at whether PIP is relevant.
https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/personal-independence-payment-pip
Read the information on the link to make sure you understand how it is assessed and scored.

Was he employed or self employed when working?

Have you used a benefits calculator to check whether there is any entitlement to UC. You are excluded if you have capital over £16,000. https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators