Q My pension is £46.45 a week and my husband's is £96.73. We both receive Attendance Allowance and he has a private pension of £240 a month. We have investments of around £16,000. I do not believe we are entitled to any benefits.
A I believe you are, and it could be a lot. Contact 0800 991234 to claim Pension Credit. If neither of you has anyone who receives Carer's Allowance for looking after you, and if each of you looks after the other, this could be as much as £92.72 a week plus full council tax rebate.
Q My weekly State Pension is £46.44 and my husband's is £93.75. He also has a monthly works pension of £166.44 and we have £16,000 savings. We have an interest only mortgage. Can we get Pension Credit (PC)?
A Yes. Just how much depends upon how much you are allowed for mortgage interest in the PC calculation.
Q My husband receives Incapacity Benefit and Income Support, which means we pay no rent or council tax. If we buy our council home would we be able to have the mortgage interest paid through Income Support and what about council tax?
A Your Income Support would include the mortgage interest but this could not be more than the housing benefit you had previously been allowed. You would continue to get maximum Council Tax Benefit as long as you were on Income Support.
Q Our State Pensions are £85.32 and £47.65 a week. I also get Pension Credit (PC) of £28.86 a week. Can I claim Council Tax Benefit?
A You should already be getting it. As your weekly income without PC is less than £155.80, you have been awarded the Guarantee Credit. This means you should automatically be given full Council Tax Benefit. Take it up with the Department for Work and Pensions.
Q I am a pensioner getting a reduction in my Council Tax because of my income. My son, aged 41, gets Income Support. How much savings would we have to have for these benefits to be affected?
A £6,000 for you, but £3,000 for him as he is not yet 60.
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