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Does my pensioner neighbour qualify for the 326 cost of living payment?

pee14

Hi my neighbour has been getting state pension since the 28th April 2021,DWP say he's not entitled to it because of the qualifying dates of 26th April to 25th May 2022, hes baffled because on those dates he was and still is getting his state pension on these dates ,if DWP are right could anyone explain this for him please?

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poppy123456

No, state pension doesn't entitled them to either payment of £326 and £324.

They need to be claiming Pension credit and recieved a payment or later became entitled to a payment for the period 26th April to 25th May.

If they are not claiming Pension credit they won't be entitled to either payments.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/cost-of-living-payment#low-income-benefits-and-tax-credits

Income-based JSA, income-based ESA, Income Support and Pension Credit

You were eligible for the first Cost of Living Payment of £326 if you were entitled to a payment (or later found to be entitled to a payment) of income-based JSA, income-related ESA, Income Support or Pension Credit for any day in the period 26 April 2022 to 25 May 2022.

You will be eligible for the second Cost of Living Payment of £324 if you were entitled to a payment (or later found to be entitled to a payment) of income-based JSA, income-related ESA, Income Support or Pension Credit for any day in the period 26 August 2022 to 25 September 2022.

pee14

@poppy123456
Thankyou for that poppy , he said he's getting pstate pension credits from that date ,iv asked him to show me letter stating that ,il get back to you if needed.

poppy123456

You said "state pension credits" that doesn't make sense. He's either claiming just State Pension or he's claiming both State Pension and Pension Credit.

pee14

@poppy123456 sorry poppy yes he says he gets both ,so while he's looking for letter bless him, il just tell you that his son lives with him with no income ,if it turns out he doesn't get the credits part would this be because his son lives with him ?

calcotti

pee14 said:

@poppy123456 sorry poppy yes he says he gets both ,so while he's looking for letter bless him, il just tell you that his son lives with him with no income ,if it turns out he doesn't get the credits part would this be because his son lives with him ?

No. Whether or not he gets Pension Credit in addition to State Pension depends on how much his State Pension is worth.

pee14

@poppy123456
Hi poppy yes he gets 182.60 he said its just gone up ,if that helps.he said he didn't get the guarantee because his son lives with him .

calcotti

pee14 said:

@poppy123456
Hi poppy yes he gets 182.60 he said its just gone up ,if that helps.he said he didn't get the guarantee because his son lives with him .

Having his son living with him would not prevent him getting Pension Credit. You need to look at exactly what his letters say. Don’t know why his amount has ‘just’ gone up. If he has been getting £182.60 since April that does suggest that there may be some Pension Credit.

pee14

He gets 185.15 per week he's just shown me his mini statement @poppy123456

pee14

calcotti said:

pee14 said:

@poppy123456 sorry poppy yes he says he gets both ,so while he's looking for letter bless him, il just tell you that his son lives with him with no income ,if it turns out he doesn't get the credits part would this be because his son lives with him ?

No. Whether or not he gets Pension Credit in addition to State Pension depends on how much his State Pension is worth.

Thankyou for that information

calcotti

pee14 said:

He gets 185.15 per week he's just shown me his mini statement

That is the standard State Pension amount and no Pension Credit is being paid and therefore he is not eligible for CoL.

He may have been told that he is not entitled to PC because his son lives with him because if your neighbour receives a disability benefit and was living alone and no one was claiming Carers Allowance or the carer element for looking after him he would have a higher PC entitlement and would then be receiving some PC.

pee14

@calcotti
Oh so he doesn't get the credit part? I'm confused because he's got a letter dating , 2021 he's entitled to the credits part of his pension , iv just seen the letter ,so looks like he hasn't been getting it then .

calcotti

Pension Credit would top up his income to £182.60 as the standard entitlement. If he is getting State pension of £185.15 then no Pension Credit is payable. As per my previous post, there are circumstances in which the PC entitlement could be higher in which case PC could be paid.

It’s very hard to comment without full information. What does the letter you have just referred to say exactly?

Does your neighbour get a disability benefit?

Has the son, who I take to be an adult, recently moved in?

Does anybody else lives with them?

poppy123456

Does he care for anyone claiming a disability benefit and has an underlying entitlement to Carers allowance? This would increase his weekly income so there maybe some entitlement to Pension Credit.

Very difficult to advise without all the information.

pee14

@poppy123456 @calcotti
So he lives with his son his son has no income, pensioner claims pip , in 2021 he had to prove his savings it was 5000 pound, he got a letter saying his pension will be topped up because is pension or income was low , hope this helps

poppy123456

That still makes no sense because savings of less than £10,000 for those of state pension age are disregarded.
Im wondering if he’s claiming Severe disability premium which increases entitlement to Pension Credit but he’s not entitled to SDP because his son lives with him, which means he needs to ring Pension Credit and tell them his son lives with him.

When did his son start living with him? You said the letter was dated 2021.

pee14

@poppy123456 @calcotti
He also went for some dental treatment in August and he got a letter saying he has to prove his pension credit / guarantee or he'll be charged.

poppy123456

We can only give advice based on the information you give. Based on that information he’s not entitled to Pension Credit so no entitlement to CoL payment, or free dental treatment.

calcotti

As an aside why isn’t the son claiming anything? Am I correct that he is an adult.

if the son was not living with your neighbour, he would be entitled to a Severe Disability Premium in the Pension Credit calculation and would then be entitled to Pension Credit. In those circumstances it is true that he is bein* prevented from getting Pension Credit because his son lives with him.

can you please provide details of the letter you referred to earlier

pee14 said:

.. he's got a letter dating , 2021 he's entitled to the credits part of his pension , iv just seen the letter

pee14

poppy123456 said:

That still makes no sense because savings of less than £10,000 for those of state pension age are disregarded.
Im wondering if he’s claiming Severe disability premium which increases entitlement to Pension Credit but he’s not entitled to SDP because his son lives with him, which means he needs to ring Pension Credit and tell them his son lives with him.
When did his son start living with him? You said the letter was dated 2021.

Yes they know he's living that's why he couldn't claim the support, so the letter saying he's been topped up is a mystery, can he email them ? Do you have a link? He's no good phone, also what about his prescriptions will he have to pay for them ?

pee14

pee14 said:

poppy123456 said:

That still makes no sense because savings of less than £10,000 for those of state pension age are disregarded.
Im wondering if he’s claiming Severe disability premium which increases entitlement to Pension Credit but he’s not entitled to SDP because his son lives with him, which means he needs to ring Pension Credit and tell them his son lives with him.
When did his son start living with him? You said the letter was dated 2021.

Yes they know he's living that's why he couldn't claim the support, so the letter saying he's been topped up is a mystery, can he email them ? Do you have a link? He's no good phone, also what about his prescriptions will he have to pay for them ? Sorry, they know his son his with him that's why he couldn't claim the SDP