occupational pensions???????

[l15a27]

can anyone tell me what to do about this
6 yrs ago my father died he and my mother were seperated, my mother was made to take on his pensions 2 occupational pensions and widows benefit
she barely has a penny to live on and i dont understand how this all works, can she refuse to take these pensions? why when they were seperated does she have to be on widows benefit? she lives in rented accomodation and pays full rent and council tax ?
if you need more info i can give it to you just didnt want to ramble on
thanks in advance lisa

[Loosehead]

Clarification needed: Do you mean she is somehow paying premiums? If he has dies then if anything she should be receiving money, don't really understand.

[dannydingbat]

Nobody will be able to answer this unless understandable and accurate facts are given. What are you asking?

[l15a27]

sorry its just i didnt want to ramble
my parents split up about 7yrs before my father died , when he died he had 2 occ pensions to go to my mum 1 for 32.96 pwk and 1 for 8.23 pwk as my mother had been involved in an accident at work and was no longer eligable for work she was on incapacity benefit, so they took her off that and payed her widows benefit 73.20 pwk she now pays full rent �57.92 and most council tax of �11.40 pwk after paying normal household bills she has hardly anything left to live on
im just wondering why she has to have these pensions and benefits when they were seperated at the time
my mother worked hard for all the years before her accident and paid enough for her to at least get something back now
thanks lisa

[themas]

If I understand you correctly, her income is pensions of �41.19 p. wk. + widow's benefit of �73.20 p. wk. Is that right &, if not, what are the figures?

On those figures & the rent/council tax you state, I think she may be entitled to about �20 p wk Housing Benefit. This depends on various factors, including whether anyone else lives in the house with her. If you can answer the following I will see if I can be more specific:

1. Is her income as I have said, & if not what are the figures?

2. Does she live alone? If not, how many other people live in the house. Do they work? If not, what is their situation?

3. Is she aged 60 or over?

4. I don't understand why she came off Incapacity Benefit. Have you any more details about this? Is she still incapacitated?

5. You seem to think she would be better off if she stopped getting the pensions. Why do you think that?

6. Is her house rented from council or housing association, or is it a private rent?

[l15a27]

thanks for answering me
right 1st off yes the figures are correct i took them off recent benefit check paperwork, yes she lives alone but she is only 57 58 on xmas day, she was taken off incapacity benefit when my dad died by the job centre telling her she now is to have widows pension.
i think she would be better off because when she received the incapacity she was intitled to full rent rebate and council tax rebate, i dont understand why she had to be on widows benefit in the first place as yes she is still incapable of work unfortunately,
and finally she lives in council property
long winded i know sorry