Could this pension cut affect you or someone you know?

Bedroom tax would only apply if the non-pensioner was receiving Housing Benefit.

State pension is based on the NI payments you have made, and is not affected by any other income you, or your partner, may have.

Can I just ask.. if the younger partner is working full time, and earning a reasonable wage and not applying for benefits, is the older partner still able to claim the normal state pension for themselves , or will they be penalised due to the earnings of the younger partner?

I'm a little concerned about this because I'm due for state pension in 2 years time, but my husband will still be in full time employment. We've never claimed any type of benefits.

Firstly, you don't get benefits 'in your own right' when you are part of a couple. Benefits are based on total household income.
Under the changes, the pensioner will be classed as a 'dependant' of the working-age partner, so not eligible for many top-ups available to single pensioners. No cold-weather payments. Liable for bedroom tax (or rather the younger partner will be, officially, but the result is the same).
Living alone, this pensioner, if their income was low enough, would get their income made up to a certain level by pension credit, and get some or all of their council tax and rent paid income.
If they have a younger partner, this will not happen. If their younger partner is looking for work, the benefits paid will be so low that the couple's total income will be less than that of the single pensioner mentioned above.

Of course, it could be argued that pensioner benefits in general are too high, and they should all be reduced, but I doubt that any single pensioners relying on pension credit will agree with that.

My point is that these changes are very unfair on the older partner (remember, there are many couples with a large age difference, where the older partner could be very vulnerable).

Dontaskme, As I understand it, your younger partner will be expected to work until they reach retirement age and if not working, claim Universal credit.

I cannot see any unfairness *MamaCaz. There will still be two incomes coming into the house. The pensioner will have their pension and the non-pensioner their wages or Universal Credit. It is a logical progression from the new pensions system.The current system is ridiculous and should never have come into being in the first place.

There'll never be equality.

I don't understand either - one of the couple is of working age so could either work or be in receipt of a benefit on their own account, surely, not dependent on their OH?

What happened to equality?

MamaCaz I'm confused. Could you explain as I appear to be a thicko

I don't understand this as we have always been treated separately for tax etc - the thinking behind it sounds like the now defunct marriage allowance which is only payable to anyone born before April 1935.

What is unfair is that couple as like this will be expected to live on less than a single pensioner. In other words, the pensioner partner of the couple would be better off if they were to divorce!

It does seem to be chaotic bikergran.
Is it a fault with the IT system or does no-one know what they are supposed to be doing?

My dd seperated with 2 children was paid her wage early(she is training to be a nurse) because she got paid early at Christmas it showed she had had 2 wages! the universal credit system decided not! to pay her any childcare fees for that month! hopefully it will rectify itself this next month.

It is * atrocious how people and families are being treat with this UC. system.

I'm older than my DH so when I finally get my pension will he be able to give up work and claim benefits then, just because I'll be a pensioner?

omit one pension

M0nica Wed 16-Jan-19 15:35:39

What is unreasonable about expecting people of working age to work until they reach retirement age, unless health or caring makes this impossible?

Why should someone of working age get pension benefits because their partner is over pension age?

Well, absolutely! I didn't even know that this was happening - it seems incredible that someone under pensionable age could receive benefits just because their OH is of pensionable age.

Thank goodness they are closing this loophole.

I thought this thread was going to be about the miscalculation of State Pensions which occurred over many years - resulting in pensioners being told that they have been overpaid for years and their pension pensions will be reduced.

Hopefully they will not be asking for a refund of the over-payment.

How could they have got it so wrong?

To be fair this isn’t a new proposed change and was know about for several years! So for once we can’t blame Brexit watching for this one, although I agree that it is hideous

I'm behind the times here, what is retirement age now ?

What is unreasonable about expecting people of working age to work until they reach retirement age, unless health or caring makes this impossible?

Why should someone of working age get pension benefits because their partner is over pension age?

How did this ridiculous situation arise. The person to blame is the person who allowed this to happen in the first place.

Unless there is an exceptionally large age difference between the couple, the problem will only arise for a few years until the second person reaches retirement age.

Thankyou for the explanation trisher. This is going to be a huge drop in income to those already receiving it if it stops.

Because I'd worked x amount of years and paid into a pension I don't qualify for anything because it brings me over the threshold of anything I could have possibly claimed. At the same time though my earnings etc were commensurate with wages in the 70's/ 80's/90's and part of the 20's which we all know certainly didn't keep up to speed with inflation as it stands so after nearly 40 years of hard graft I'm not in the lap of luxury that I should be because of high prices of everything in comparison to what they were in the past.

We are then dictated to on the amount you SHOULD ? be living on ! What ? Yes-------my savings that I grafted for, and then what ?

My only contact with the DWP was when I applied for AA after a stroke and was turned down because " I could feed myself " !

They can all take a running jump from now on though I should have known from 1993 when my late husband had terminal cancer and he also was refused. Must be us !!

It was always over ambitious to try and make all benefit payments into one.
There are just too many variables in people's lives.
I have been following the case that the mothers brought regarding their wage payment dates and am very glad that they won their case.

The detail that was sneakily announced regarding pension credit will impact on women in their sixties who will be expected to take up one of the many jobs that will be offered to them when they look for work. Because we all know how easy it is to get a job when you are over 60.

Any one of pensionable age with a low income is at present entitled to claim Pension Credit EthelVannin it does depend on saviings and other income. It is awarded to a couple when one of them is of pensionable age and if they have a low income. But the government's flag ship benefit Universal Credit will take over new claims when one of the couple are not of pension age and it will be less than they would have got under the old system. Basically it's a way of clawing back a few thousand by targetting lower income couples. Universal Credit is the system just taken to court by 4 single mothers because it discriminated against them. They won. Apparently when someone is paid a day early because of a Bank holiday the system decides they have been paid twice and cuts their Universal Credit for that month. All entries like this will now have to be done by people. So the system that is supposed to modernise welfare and save money is unfit for purpose but it is still being implemented.

trisher, I have skim read the above and understand that a sort of " top-up " is given to couples if one of them isn't of retiring age ? It's this " top-up " that's going to stop on account of one partner still being eligible for work ?

I'm not a couple either EllenVannin nor am I a WASPI woman, that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the problems this will cause for those who may find themselves with huge financial problems because they have been screwed by this government.

It's a sneaky move that will affect the most vulnerable. It seems that poorer pensioners will lose £7,000 a year.

Firstly I'm not a " couple " and secondly I don't know what pension credit is or universal credit. I'm not au-fait with the system.