Government to cut £70 a week from thousands of state pensions

[dutchman]

For decades the state pension helped people out if they had someone depending on them - that's about to end seeing thousands of retired Britons lose £70 a week. Who's affected



Some £33million is being taken away from people's pensions as the Government ends the allowance for adult dependents.

Designed to help people with someone else relying on them, the benefit is worth £70 a week, but will stop being paid in April.

Steve Webb, Royal London policy director, said: "Under the old state pension system, people claiming a retirement pension could get a significant extra amount for a spouse who was financially dependent upon them."

Royal London launched a Freedom of Information request to find out just how many people would lose out - discovering 11,000 pensioners are still in receipt of the cash.

"It will come as a nasty shock to thousands of people to see their state pension cut by up to £70 per week," Webb said.

"Losing over £3,500 per year over night will make a material difference to the standard of living of those who are affected’."

The move comes as a result of the pensions Act 2007, which blocked people from applying for the credit after 2010.

But anyone already getting the extra cash by then was allowed to keep claiming it for as long as they were entitled.

That's stopping in April, seeing anyone with an "adult dependent" - generally a husband or wife under state pension age - lose the extra cash.

"It seems penny-pinching of the Government to take this money away when the addition is gradually working its way out of the system in any case," Webb said.

A DWP spokesperson told Mirror Online: “The ending of ADIs was part of a package of reforms introduced in 2010, which meant that overall more women received the full basic State Pension and more generous National Insurance credits for carers were introduced.

“After 6 April 2020, current ADI recipients may be eligible for a means tested benefit such as Universal Credit or Pension Credit. Those already in receipt of a means tested benefit should see no change to their income as the loss of the ADI will be offset by an increase in their means tested benefit.”

[dutchman]

Those already in receipt of a means tested benefit should see no change to their income as the loss of the ADI will be offset by an increase in their means tested benefit.

Actually I don't think that's the case as Universal Credit is 'conditional' upon someone under state pension age looking for a job and the government has also recently phased out Housing Benefit for OAPs with a partner who is under state pension age.

The changes will also affect younger adults who for one reason or another are forced to live with elderly parents, in some cases along with their children. One example would be where a woman and her children are forced to leave home due to domestic violence. Another is where elderly parents are still looking after a handicapped adult child.

[Jock Strapp]

That is the result of having a totally heartless government. Those who will have that £70 stolen from them will also have to pay for their TV license.

[dutchman]

Mixed-aged couples penalised in 'cruel' benefits scheme travesty

The Government's changes for mixed aged couples, where one is over state pension age and one under, came into force in May 2019. However, there are fears that the system is now “completely undignified and inhuman”. Jan Shortt, the general secretary for the National Pensioners Convention, told Express.co.uk that the benefit scheme was “devastating” mixed age couples.

Ms Shortt told Express.co.uk: “In May last year, sneaked in under the cover of a Brexit debate, was the mixed aged couples.

“What that means is if you are a mixed aged couple where one person is of pensioner age and one isn’t, after May they were no longer able to access pension credit.

“What happened is that both parties have to sign up to universal credit.

“Universal credit is a lot less than pension and the system is absolute rubbish.”

She continued: “We know people that have been forced to sign up, they’ve lost their housing benefit, lost their council tax benefit etc.

“They’ve signed up for universal credit and haven’t had payments for weeks.

“This means they’re living off the older person’s pension and nothing else.

“What we find is the younger partner in the relationship is usually the one caring for the older one.”

The pension campaigner added: “So if they’re getting carer’s allowance, that is included as income, and then that affects your universal credit and any benefits you get.

“It is devastating these couples.

“One of them said to me, ‘I’m being penalised because I fell in love with someone older than me’.”

Ms Shortt added: “That’s true, why should they be penalised?

“What you’ve got then, is a younger person, if they’re a carer, that is expected to go through the hoops of universal credit and try and find 20 jobs a week.

“This takes them away from the caring work they do, and their partner.

“Then they’re at risk of being sanctioned if they don’t come up with the right amount of information that it demands.

“That is completely undignified and inhuman. It’s cruel.”