DWP letter received after probate and Equity Release

[Ally18]

Having just finalised Probate, a week later followed the DWP letter arrived wanting to know details of my late relative's estate due to them receiving pension credit. He was over 90 and by the looks of things had an indefinite assessed income period for pension credit benefits.

A few years before he died he took out an equity release scheme, providing some cash savings. When reading the DWP guidance, during an assessed period, equity release schemes don't count. He told us he checked with the DWP and they said this was fine. However we cant find anything in writing to confirm this advice.

Has anyone experienced something similar when equity release is involved and how did you deal with the DWP. Thanks

[enaid]

Re: DWP letter received after probate and Equity Release

Hope this helps.

Indefinite assessed income periods

You can have an indefinite assessed income period (open-ended AIP) if you or your partner are aged 75 or over.If you are eligible for an open-ended AIP you will no longer have to report changes to most kinds of income you receive, unless the change would increase the amount of Pension Credit you receive. Changes you do not have to report if you are eligible for an open-ended AIP include:

• income from equity release schemes
• income from annuities or private pensions
• savings or investments

Not everyone is awarded Pension Credit with an AIP, so you may need to check whether these rules apply to you. If they do not, then changes to all your income and capital must be notified in the normal way.

http://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/assessed-income-period

[Ally18]

Re: DWP letter received after probate and Equity Release

Thank you. Really helpful. I'm assuming the DWP will have records of this ? Do they still have access to records over 15 years would you know ?

[enaid]

Re: DWP letter received after probate and Equity Release

They should have a record of the AIP and if it was open ended then the money from the equity release would not have to be declared.
If it wasn't open ended and I very much doubt it, then an assessment would have been done on a regular basis possibly every 5 yrs so they should have records of that too.

[Ally18]

Re: DWP letter received after probate and Equity Release

Does that mean that if the AIP period ended any equity release taken out during the AIP would be taken into account from then on ?

[enaid]

Re: DWP letter received after probate and Equity Release

No I don't believe so only if it was taken AFTER the AIP ended

The Pension Service says: ‘If you are 65 or over – or have a partner and one of you is 65 or over and the other is at least 60 – an assessed income period may apply. This means you do not need to report changes to pensions, annuities, equity release payments or your capital as they happen.’
The letter you receive to tell you about the decision on your Pension Credit application will also tell you if an assessed income period applies to you and what that period is.

[Ally18]

Re: DWP letter received after probate and Equity Release

Thanks for the information. Just waiting for the DWP response now. I'll keep you updated. Thanks for the help once again

[Ally18]

Re: DWP letter received after probate and Equity Release

Thanks for the information. Just waiting for the DWP response now. I'll keep you updated. Thanks for the help once again

Just received a letter from the Recovery From Estates Debt Management for DWP. I think it's a standard letter ref DM15S. After waiting six weeks for a reply they now state that my late uncle MAY have been paid too much income related benefit and they are now waiting for the office that paid the benefits to send them relevant documents. So we're no further forward from 6 weeks ago.

Does anyone know how long they have before they must reply. Is there any statutory time limits.

Is there anything I should be asking them at this point. Should I challenge them, as I believe my uncle was in a assessed income period.

Thanks

[enaid]

Re: DWP letter received after probate and Equity Release

I am afraid they are a law unto themselves and have no time limit on how they sort these things out.