Pension Credit , Damn

[SparklyKid]

a couple of quid short .  it seems to open a lot of goodies for free .

[douglas9401]

Maybe, as we hear so often on the news, Northern Ireland has a different system.

[THECORBYLOON]

Three friends each selt their house, gave the proceeds to others to look after and then successfully claimed Pension Credit?

Where are they living now?

[Barmaid]

You can still get Pension Credit if you own your own home because it is based on your income and savings.  Your home is not included as savings.  Once the property is sold and converted into cash, then it is taken into account.  If you give it away, that is deprivation and can be taken into account for benefit purposes and care home fees.  The DWP and local authorities are really clamping down on this sort of thing now.  Whilst you may get away with it for a couple of years, certainly I am aware that LAs in England are pursuing such cases where care home fees are concerned.

Of course it may be different in NI.

[Peter Pedant]

thank you barmaid

 

[THECORBYLOON]

There is a separate social security system in Ulster but similar deprivation of capital regulations apply to means-tested benefits there as in Great Britain.

[wolf63]

Years ago I was working on the DWP overpayments section.

One guy had two houses he gave away to family members with no cash changing hands.  He was a smug git who smirked at the beginning of the interview.  

I had to explain to him how he had been overpaid a vast amount of money due to deprivation of capital.  I can't remember if it went to court but he had to pay the money back.

He is probably still paying it back.