Pension Credits and Inheritance

Kaelsin

Kaelsin

Kaelsin

Associate
Joined
7 Aug 2009
Posts
333
Hey all,

I was hoping someone may point me in the right direction for advice.

My grandad is 95, lives alone, receives the state pension and lives in a small council bungalow.

His only asset is the small amount of savings he has.

For years, he has helped elderly people out in his local area with gardening work and trips to appointments, etc. He spoke to me this morning and is worried as he has received a letter that he has inherited a small amount of money from one of the residents that has unfortunately passed away.

He is worried as the gift and his savings would push him just above £10k and may mean he would need to be re-assessed and “doesn’t want that hassle at his time of life”.

I’ve spoken to CAB and Age UK who haven’t been able to offer any advice except pointing me at government pages for pension credits.

He is currently looking to reject the inheritance, as he doesn’t want the hassle and stress of being reassessed and worries he may lose out overall - this seems a shame for all the work he has done and I’m just trying to find if he definitely would need to be reassessed or not or if there are any other options for him.
 
www.gov.uk

Pension Credit

Pension Credit is extra money for pensioners to bring your weekly income up to a minimum amount - what you'll get, apply, eligibility.
www.gov.uk www.gov.uk

Your savings and investments​


If you have £10,000 or less in savings and investments this will not affect your Pension Credit.


If you have more than £10,000, every £500 over £10,000 counts as £1 income a week. For example, if you have £11,000 in savings, this counts as £2 income a week.
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Your grandad would need to declare it if he has, or ends up with, more than £10,000 in savings.

He can disclaim the inheritance or, it seems, create a deed of variation to alter the amount he receives. Not a lawyer so take appropriate advice.
 
If he bought some items he really needs to add comfort and quality of life ect i am sure this wouldn't be classed as deprivation of assets on an ongoing claim
 
moon man said:
If he bought some items he really needs to add comfort and quality of life ect i am sure this wouldn't be classed as deprivation of assets on an ongoing claim
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usually with the gov owning jewellery doesn't count towards the limit as well unlike savings/shares and probably actual "gold"
jewellery isn't counted as an asset or savings


The guy should spend what money he has on new appliances, curtains, bedding, carpets or whatever until he can accept the inheritance and not be over the limit.
 
Surely the clue is in the title, savings.

If it is a small inheritance he could cash it in and buy something he needs or he can gift some to family. Something to take him below the £10k again.

Gifting is up to £3k per year, then if he buys something, he will soon be back under the £10k.
 
From what i remember when i worked for the dwp its £1 off the entitlement for every £500 over the £10000 threshold.

how much is it going to put him over?

as an above suggestion is there any purchases that he can make that will change his quality of life.

and also if he is already in receipt of pension credit i would only declare when asked by the department when the annual recalculation comes round.
 
Kaelsin said:
Hey all,

I was hoping someone may point me in the right direction for advice.

My grandad is 95, lives alone, receives the state pension and lives in a small council bungalow.

His only asset is the small amount of savings he has.

For years, he has helped elderly people out in his local area with gardening work and trips to appointments, etc. He spoke to me this morning and is worried as he has received a letter that he has inherited a small amount of money from one of the residents that has unfortunately passed away.

He is worried as the gift and his savings would push him just above £10k and may mean he would need to be re-assessed and “doesn’t want that hassle at his time of life”.

I’ve spoken to CAB and Age UK who haven’t been able to offer any advice except pointing me at government pages for pension credits.

He is currently looking to reject the inheritance, as he doesn’t want the hassle and stress of being reassessed and worries he may lose out overall - this seems a shame for all the work he has done and I’m just trying to find if he definitely would need to be reassessed or not or if there are any other options for him.
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arknor said:
gifting money is probably seen as trying to avoid being over the limit, where as buying things one would need anyway isn't.
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You dont even need it just want is good enough. New gardening tools springs to mind.
 
moon man said:
If he bought some items he really needs to add comfort and quality of life ect i am sure this wouldn't be classed as deprivation of assets on an ongoing claim
Click to expand...
Yup

IIRC going back about 20 years, so may have changed now, if you went over the limit for a short time whilst say waiting for works to be done it didn't count.
My mother went well over the limit for a few months when my nan died, but she rang DWP up to explain that they were using the money to do the double glazing and other home repairs/updates and the DWP person said that was fine and wouldn't affect the claim (basically the money was earmarked for the repairs but awaiting completion before it was paid). At times DWP/the rules can be fairly understanding of temporarily going over the limit if there is a reason and where the money is going is sensible/can be tracked.

It can be worthwhile ringing DWP and asking a question about it.
 
Thank you for the advice and replies so far.

One thing that has popped up in my research is if he is in an assessed income period. When my nan passed away just over 6 years ago, he thinks he was assessed then and then was told by the assessor that he would likely not be assessed again. From what I understand, he may have been given an indefinite period, which I think means he wouldn’t be assessed again, but I’m not totally sure and trying to find any documentation he has around this.

At the moment, his mindset is that he wants to send the cheque back, as he doesn’t want the hassle, doesn’t want to fall foul to any rules and is happy as he is - which I can understand but seems a shame.
 
he can also donate to charity.

With the energy costs i would prioritize upgrades to windows, insulation, clothing .
 
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