Weren’t born on the same day as your partner? You’re still unlucky.

Blog by Age Scotland’s Policy Officer Ashleigh de Verteuil

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In a previous blog post, we highlighted massively unfair changes being made to Pension Credit. Well there is another looming deadline for couples who may be affected by the changes: the 13^th of August is the last day you’ll be able to make a backdated claim for Pension Credit. 

So what does this mean?

Pension Credit is an important top up benefit for older people who are on a low pension income. It is already a massively under claimed entitlement with the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) estimating that 40% of those eligible for pension credit don’t claim it.

But now changes by the UK Government to the eligibility criteria will see more older people unable to claim and become poorer as a result.

This is the bit where you, and your dearest’s, birthday matters. If you’re what is called a ‘mixed aged couple’, in other words one of you is of pensionable age and the other is younger than their state pension age, you will no longer be able to claim pension credit. What, you mean you don’t have the same birthday and birth year as your partner? Weird!

To make matters worse, the basic Pension Credit rate for a couple is currently £248.80 a week, and the basic Universal Credit rate for a couple is only £114.85 a week.

And I hate to add further insult to injury, but Pension Credit is a ‘passporting benefit’. This means that it acts as a qualifying benefit for other forms of assistance, but as you won’t be able to claim Pension Credit until you both are of pensionable age then you can’t claim them. This includes cold weather payments, maximum help with housing benefit, maximum help with Council Tax Reduction and you’ll also be affected by the ‘bedroom tax’, will not have access to claim social fund funeral payments, and may not be entitled to the warm home discount.

What are your options? Well you can either wait until the younger partner reaches their state pension age, or they can claim Universal Credit in the meantime as way to boost your joint income. This will mean they’ll be subjected to Universal Credit conditionality, for example, needing to prove that they are a carer, or that they’re seeking work for 35 hours a week, or that they’re not well enough to work. If you decide not to claim Universal Credit, and have no other income then you would be £133.95 a week worse off, potentially for several years.

This move is hugely unjust. With pensioner poverty on the rise, 29% of people aged 75 and over living on or just below the poverty line, and fuel poverty likely to increase.

The Age Scotland freephone helpline, which provides free information, friendship and advice is on hand to provide support to people over 50, their families, and carers. You can still make a claim, which will be backdated, until the 13^th August.

This is something we can help with, call our helpline and speak to one of our friendly advisors who can can give you a free benefit check to see if you’re getting everything that you’re entitled to. In fact they can help with just about anything, they’re very knowledgeable.

Our advisors are here to help. Just call 0800 12 44 222 and one of our team will talk you through the process.

I implore you to call them, the changes to Pension Credit are a few months away and they can talk you through any entitlements you may be eligible for in great detail and how to claim them

If you’d also like to share your outrage about these changes, then we want to hear from you too. Sharing people’s real life stories is the best way to bring forward change so do get in touch with us.

Our helpline is free to call, and is available Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm on 0800 12 44 222.

Whatever later life brings, we’re here to help

Rachel is an adviser with the Age Scotland helpline. She recently had a caller who lives on her own in a private rental property and is of state pension age. The caller was finding money quite tight and spoke to Rachel about getting a benefits check. Rachel identified £90 a week in housing benefits that the caller wasn’t aware that she could claim. The caller was also able to get the entitlement backdated and so will receive a lump sum to help her. That extra money will make a real difference to her quality of life.

Navigating entitlements and helping callers access them is just one of the ways that our team can support older people, their families and carers. The Age Scotland Helpline is the flagship advice service for Scotland’s older people to help with any challenges they may face.

Our Community Connecting service is also based within the helpline. Volunteers work to combat loneliness and isolation by supporting older people to explore interests and take up new hobbies. Through regular calls of support and encouragement and by doing research into what is available, our volunteers help older people to get involved in lunch clubs and social activities in their local area. There is no typical caller. It could be someone who has recently retired and wants to pick up a new hobby. Or it could be someone who has been socially isolated for months and is ready to take that first step and meet new people in their area.

One caller who got in touch said that her life had been turned upside down by the death of her husband. She felt incredibly isolated. She had never contacted a helpline before but was looking for any kind of support she could find. Through regular calls our volunteer was able to get to know the caller’s interests and encourage her to try a local club. The caller went on to sign up for a befriending service as well as an I.T. class to help her develop skills online.

Later life can bring many challenges but it also brings opportunities. If you or someone you know could benefit from the support offered by our helpline or community connecting teams, please get in touch on 0800 12 44 222. It’s free to call and open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.

We’re here to help.

Weren’t born on the same day as your partner? Unlucky.

Blog by Age Scotland Policy Officer Ashleigh de Verteuil

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Pension Credit is an important top up benefit for older people who are on a low pension income. It is already a massively under claimed entitlement with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) estimating that 40% of those eligible for pension credit don’t claim it.

But now changes by the UK Government to the eligibility criteria will see more older people unable to claim and become poorer as a result.

This is the bit where you, and your dearest’s, birthday matters. If you’re what is called a ‘mixed aged couple’, in other words one of you is of pensionable age and the other is younger than their state pension age, you will no longer be able to claim pension credit. What, you mean you don’t have the same birthday and birth year as your partner? Weird!

To make matters worse, the basic Pension Credit rate for a couple is currently £248.80 a week, and the basic Universal Credit rate for a couple is only £114.85 a week.

And I hate to add further insult to injury, but Pension Credit is a ‘passporting benefit’. This means that it acts as a qualifying benefit for other forms of assistance, but as you won’t be able to claim Pension Credit until you both are of pensionable age then you can’t claim them. This includes cold weather payments, maximum help with housing benefit, maximum help with Council Tax Reduction and you’ll also be affected by the ‘bedroom tax’, will not have access to claim social fund funeral payments, and may not be entitled to the warm home discount.

What are your options? Well you can either wait until the younger partner reaches their state pension age, or they can claim Universal Credit in the meantime as way to boost your joint income. This will mean they’ll be subjected to Universal Credit conditionality, for example, needing to prove that they are a carer, or that they’re seeking work for 35 hours a week, or that they’re not well enough to work. If you decide not to claim Universal Credit, and have no other income then you would be £133.95 a week worse off, potentially for several years.

This move is hugely unjust. With pensioner poverty on the rise, 29% of people aged 75 and over living on or just below the poverty line, and fuel poverty likely to increase.

The Age Scotland freephone helpline, which provides free information, friendship and advice is on hand to provide support to people over 50, their families, and carers. The changes for mixed aged couples won’t be introduced until May 15^th 2019 so there is still time to start the Pension Credit claim process. This is something we can help with, call our helpline advisors and they can give you a free benefit check to see if you’re getting everything that you’re entitled to. In fact they can help with just about anything, they’re very knowledgeable- and friendly.

I implore you to call them, the changes to Pension Credit are a few months away and they can talk you through any entitlements you may be eligible for in great detail and how to claim them

If you’d also like to share your outrage about these changes, then we want to hear from you too. Sharing people’s real life stories is the best way to bring forward change so do get in touch with us.

Our helpline is free to call, and is available Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm on 0800 12 44 222.

Money Matters: a new Age Scotland project

Age Scotland has received funding from the Money Advice Service for a new project: until February 2018 we are offering older peoples’ groups a choice of Money Matters roadshows.

We have four new people in the team: Jessica Shields our Evaluation officer, Fiona Scott our Project assistant, Cheryl Fowler who will be delivering most of our roadshows and Sam Longden who will support helpline advisers and improve our information about money matters.

We can deliver roadshows on a choice of subjects:

• Benefit entitlements – did you know that 1/3 of people who are entitled don’t claim Pension Credit? Could you be missing out? Do you know how many ways there are to get help with your council tax bill? Might you be entitled to Attendance Allowance?

• Care costs and funding – what does care cost? If you qualify for free personal and nursing care what is actually free? Is it true that most people have to sell their house?

• Power of Attorney – what types are there? How do you choose your attorney? What are your responsibilities if you are an attorney and where can you get advice?

• Wills and funeral costs – why should you write a will? Do you know what a funeral costs? How much help is available from the government? How can you save money on costs?

• Planning for and managing financial changes – does your group support people who face particular challenges with money because of caring responsibilities, health issues or bereavement? We can look at how best you can manage financial issues which affect you, and learn from you too.

After the roadshows, people can call the Age Scotland helpline, 0800 12 44 222 for a confidential conversation with an adviser.

The aim of the project is to find out “what works”. So we will be working with you to find out what you know before and after roadshows, seeing how many people make follow-up calls to our helpline and, if you agree, contacting you afterwards to find out if you did take steps to claim a benefit, take out a Power of Attorney or plan for funeral costs. We really need the feedback about what worked and what didn’t work, and we will adapt our roadshows and information in response to what we learn from you.

We are looking for some groups to help us to develop our training and information, and we will also be asking professionals who work with older people what money issues they are raising, what they know about money concerns for older people and what would support them to guide older people to find advice and help.

For more information or to book a roadshow call the Age Scotland switchboard on 0333 323 2400 or email the team

A New Future for Social Security – Age Scotland submission

Age Scotland has put forward an wide-ranging submission to the Scottish Government’s consultation on the future for social security in Scotland.

The charity endorses the basic principle that social security should be seen as an investment in the people of Scotland and in strengthening our social fabric.  We propose models which should exhibit trust in people and respect for their dignity.

We advocate an end to rules which are probably discriminatory based on age – such as the lack of a mobility component for attendance allowance, unlike other disability benefits – and we support the principle that universal winter fuel payments are the most effective means of reaching those most in need of support.

The submission is extensive, comprising some 56 pages, although the consultation paper was over 140 pages long and posed over 170 questions.  It is the most detailed policy submission which the charity or its predecessors have ever compiled.

The submission gives the charity’s perspective on a wide range of specific benefits affecting older people which are being devolved (including disability and carer’s benefits, funeral payments, and winter fuel payments).

It also deals with a series of administrative matters on how eligibility should be worked out, how benefits should be paid, and the overarching principles and intended outcomes which should be a focus for the new system.

Another important aspect is ensuring that the new devolved system works well with the other benefits which will remain reserved to the UK Parliament and Government, and administered by the DWP, JobCentres and the Pension Service.  Clearly it is important for there to be no disruption to payments on which vulnerable people depend, either as the responsibility is transferred or as changes the Scottish Government intends to make are implemented.

The response was informed by the views and experiences of older people themselves, which we gathered at eight distinct consultation events around the country, and also the expertise of our policy staff and helpline advisors, who regularly support older people with benefits concerns and queries.  We aim to use this invaluable information in our further discussions with Government Ministers and officials as the policies take shape and legislation is prepared to give effect to them.

Download our submission

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Please feel free to share any views you have by emailing policycomms@agescotland.org.uk

Scottish Government consultation about new benefit powers

The Scottish Government is consulting about how best to use its new benefit powers, the consultation is open until 28th October 2016. You can find full information here.

The new benefit powers most likely to affect older people relate to

• Disability related benefits including Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance
• Cold Weather Payments
• Winter Fuel Payments
• Funeral Payments

The Scottish Government is interested in your opinions on a wide range of issues including:

• Are there any particular words or phrases that should not be used when delivering social security in Scotland?
• Should social security in Scotland make some provision for face to face contact?
• What are your views on what is right and wrong with current disability benefits?
• Are there changes that could be made to disability benefits that would significantly improve equality?
• What do you think should be paid for by a Funeral Payment?

How to get involved

1. You can respond to the full consultation on the Scottish Government’s website here

2. Alternatively we have summarised the questions most likely to affect older people which you can respond to these here. Your comments will inform Age Scotland’s response to the Scottish Government.

3. We are also running a series of consultation events in partnership with Age Scotland member groups across Scotland – see details below.

• Orkney – Age Concern Orkney, Kirkwall – Monday 3rd October (Exact time TBC)
• Bellshill – Orbiston Neighbourhood Centre – Tuesday 4th October 10:00am – 12:15pm
• New Cumnock – Lochside House Hotel – Tuesday 4th October 1pm – 3pm
• Inverness – Merkinch Community Centre – Thursday 6th October 2pm – 3pm (EVENT FULL)
• Glasgow – The Senior Centre, Castlemilk – Thursday 6th Octoiber 10:30am – 12:30pm (EVENT FULL)
• Elgin – Elgin Youth Cafe – Friday 7th October 10am – 2pm
• Grangemouth – Venue TBC – Thursday 13th October – 11:00am – 1:30pm
• Edinburgh – Pilmeny Resource Centre – Thursday 20th October 1:30pm – 3:30pm (EVENT FULL)
• Dundee – Full details TBC

If you would like to attend an event, please contact Helen Simpson at helen.simpson@agescotland.org.uk or call 0333 32 32 400.

Remember, if you are unable to attend these events, you can still submit direct to the Scottish Government or through our online consultation. We can also mail out a response form to those people who do not have internet access.

“Disability Benefits” – March’s Hot Tips

Our free calendar “Hot Tips” aims to ensure everyone in Scotland knows about the organisations and services available to them, and how to make the most of later life.

March’s theme is “Disability Benefits” and aims to give a brief overview of the main disability benefits available to older people in Scotland. In this blog, Heather Smith, Age Scotland’s Information and Advice Manager, explains why this time of year is a good time to check your benefit entitlement. 

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For benefits advisers, Easter isn’t just the time to eat chocolate, it’s also time to look at changes to benefit rates and encourage people to check their entitlements, as benefit rates change a little in the new financial year. Many older people do not claim the benefits they are entitled to, perhaps because of pride, or the negative stereotypes of “benefit claimants” in some media or because they have not understood the intricacies of rules and regulations. Some media outlets also try to stir up disputes between generations by saying that older people are “well off” – some older people are, but others have had difficult lives where the idea of saving for the future had to take second place to day-to-day budgeting to pay everyday bills and expenses.

The main benefits for older people are State Retirement Pension, Pension Credit and Attendance Allowance.

State Pension

There is still some confusion about State Pension Age. This used to be 60 for a woman and 65 for a man, but the age for women is increasing fast and is now 62 ½, which can be a shock to a woman who in the context of a busy life has not kept an eye on welfare reform changes. The main change at 60 is now the “entitlement card” for concessionary travel, which in Scotland is not tied to the changes in State Pension Age.  There will be changes to State Pension in April 2016 when the rate will become “single tier” and number of qualifying years will change – this doesn’t affect anyone who is already getting their state pension.

Pension Credit

The age for anyone claiming Pension Credit is pinned to the increases in State Pension Age for a woman, so many people may be unsure about when they can claim. Our helpline Silver Line Scotland can track down the relevant date for you and help you to have a look at whether your income, capital and other circumstances mean that you are eligible to make a claim. Call them for free on 0800 4 70 80 90.

Attendance Allowance

Attendance Allowance is the benefit for people who are 65 or over who need help with care or supervision. Many older people who could be entitled do not make a claim because they want to feel independent or they are just getting by without help. Others who do claim may not explain their needs effectively. They may have made gradual adjustments to their expectations as their health has deteriorated and their need for care has increased.

Attendance Allowance is based on the care you need, not the care you actually have. It can be claimed regardless of your income and capital, and you can spend it how you choose to. For those aged under 65, there is a different benefit called Personal Independence Payment.

From the calls we have had to our helpline, Age Scotland knows that many people like to have the facts about benefits clear in their own minds before talking to an adviser or making a claim for benefit. If you think or someone close to you may be entitled to make a claim, get in touch and a Silver Line Scotland Adviser can talk you through your right, on 0800 4 70 80 90.

Download your 2015 Hot Tips Calendar here and get information and advice throughout the year. Here’s what you’ve thought about Hot Tips so far:

• “Thank you for the calendar – useful & attractive”
• “Thank you for caring”
• “I do not think you could do any better. This is wonderful”

Download yours today!

Hands off universal pensioner benefits

By Agnes McGroarty from the Scottish Seniors Alliance

‘Hands Off’ is the clear message coming from older people across Scotland, as a new UK wide campaign was launched last month defending the need for universal pensioner benefits.

Agnes McGroarty

The Hands Off campaign, which has already been backed by some of the most influential older people’s organisations in the UK, aims to safeguard benefits such as the winter fuel payment, bus pass, free prescriptions and TV licences after the 2015 general election.

Following comments made by the main political parties at Westminster indicating these benefits may be under threat, this campaign will emphasise their importance in achieving a decent standard of living for millions of pensioners across the UK, whilst also highlighting the costs and barriers associated with means-testing such benefits.

I would encourage people of all ages to sign the online e-petition and to email their local MP via the campaign website at www.handsoff.org.uk. If the e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in the House of Commons.

Clearly, a debate would raise the profile of this issue with the current coalition government and amongst other UK political parties who may be in power following the 2015 general election. The real reason why pensioners need additional benefits such as the winter fuel allowance and the free bus pass is because our state pension is so poor. Yet despite this, every year older people add an extra £40bn to the economy in taxes, volunteering and unpaid caring. Universal benefits help to keep people active, independent, warm in their homes, healthy and involved in their communities. Universal benefits need to be defended not only for today’s pensioners, but for the pensioners of tomorrow as well.

During the last year, pensioners have felt under constant attack. The myth that older people have escaped any austerity measures is totally groundless, and we will fight to ensure there are no further cuts or means testing of vital benefits such as the winter fuel payment, bus pass, free prescriptions or TV licences. We call on every individual, regardless of age, to support us in our campaign to ensure these benefits are maintained for pensioners now and in the years to come.

We must make our voice heard now! Millionaire pensioners have been used as justification for further cuts or means-testing, but this campaign represents the views of real pensioners who are already struggling to make ends meet.

The Hands Off campaign is being officially backed by the Scottish Seniors Alliance, the National Pensioners’ Convention, Age Sector Platform in Northern Ireland and the Welsh Senate of Older People. For more information on the campaign, and to sign the e-petition, please visit www.handsoff.org.uk.

This was taken from our Magazine Advantage. Soap Box columns do not necessarily reflect Age Scotland’s views or policies. To submit an article call Advantage on 0845 833 0200 or email advantage@agescotland.org.uk.

Should pensioners pay more tax?

Lindsay Scott considers a new report from the Fabian Society that says old age is no longer a proxy for poverty and pensioners should pay more tax.

Pensioners should “share the pain” of austerity cuts and pay more tax to promote inter-generational fairness in the housing market, because high levels of home ownership among older people is unfair as middle-income workers’ wages stagnate and they cannot afford to buy a home.

This is the gist of a report produced by the left-of-centre think tank, the Fabian Society, which analysed data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (Elsa) and came up with recommendations such as increasing pensioners’ taxes, cutting benefits, introducing a tax on property wealth and scrapping the Westminster Government’s “triple-lock” guarantee, which keeps pensions rising in line with the highest measure of inflation.

The paper, part of a series produced for the Hanover housing charity, suggests that the majority of older people are neither wealthy baby-boomers with “a surfeit of wealth and leisure” nor “pensioners on the breadline facing poverty, isolation and ill health”, so there should be a “presumption of equality” as “old age is no longer a proxy for poverty”.

Some of the Fabian Society’s suggestions may be worth exploring – it can be argued that it is illogical for wealthy pensioners to get untaxed hand-outs such as winter fuel payments while welfare payments to millions are squeezed. Benefits in kind, such as bus passes for people aged over 60 and free television licences for those over 75 are also something that could potentially be taxed.

But universal benefits can only be clawed back in tax if people have sufficient income, and the fact is there are only around 200,000 UK pensioners in the higher rate tax bracket and most of the country’s 11 million plus pensioners have much lower incomes, so the amount of money raised would not amount to anything near the £7.2 billion annually that the report predicts.

Scotland’s 1.2 million pensioners have undoubtedly made a significant contribution to our society and economy and will continue to do so in years to come, and it can be difficult for older people to change their financial plans as their options are likely to be very limited. They have also contributed national insurance payments throughout their working lives to receive in return a state pension that ensures a financial safety net but little more. So we shouldn’t be sparking inter-generational conflict by punishing home-owning pensioners – forcing them to downsize or face ever-higher taxes, but rather should be addressing the reasons why home ownership is decreasing among younger groups.

Supply is not meeting demand partly because planning laws are too stringent and stamp duty rates are sky-high. Perhaps another reason for younger groups not owning their own homes is the high and rising cost of housing in England and Wales, and particularly the south of England. Among those in the bottom half of the income distribution graph, housing costs are 25% higher in England and Wales than Scotland. A decade ago the gap was 10%.

Remember, everyone ages, so whatever taxes are introduced for today’s pensioners will also affect future generations of pensioners. It is fundamentally wrong to shift the burden onto a single group, regardless of which generation it is. People in later life are no more advantaged or disadvantaged a group than any other in society.

Lindsay Scott is Age Scotland Communication and Campaigns Manager