Husband in care home, pension paid into joint a/c

A client below pension age has a husband (above pension age) who is now permanently in a care home.

He has significant state and occupational pension income (£1,100) which is paid into their joint account.

As they will be treated as individuals for benefit purposes, how will DWP treat the income that goes into the joint a/c? Will it have implications for her when it come to means tested benefits?

The obvious thing to do would be for him to open a new bank account and have his pensions paid into it, but he is too frail to deal with this and she does not have PoA or anything. The wife could open her own account, if this would help.

unclear from your post - does the husband have capacity? I wondered that as you mentioned PofA.

if he hasn’t capacity and there is no PofA/EPofA, she will have to apply to the Court of Protection to be made deputy to deal with his money.

otherwise, she has no power to do anything with HIS money.

can’t answer the rest of your question but off the top of my head would have thought his income would be dealt with as his income, but that the LA surely will treat her as dependent and make financial allowance for that….

Thanks.

The support worker is going to broach the subject of PoA with the wife, but she hasn’t met the husband so isn’t able to form a view re capacity.

I’d hope they treat his income as his own, as it is mostly going on care home fees. I’ve suggested an AA application, which will help. but the wife, who is also in poor health, will need her own income.

Hi,

Do you have any idea of how the placement is funded (i.e. self funding, LA funded, NHS CHC funded)?

Starting point is always going to be that they are treated as two single people from the date the placement was made permanent so income clearly attributed to him will be his for means tested benefits purposes and any income clearly attributed to her will be hers.

The potential complication that may arise is how any capital that has accrued in the joint account is split for benefit purposes (and LA charge assessment purposes).

If he is LA funded the LA have discretion to disregard 50% of his occupational pension when working out his contribution to the care home fees on the basis that is used by his partner at home to support herself. Technically this should be treated as spousal maintenance with regards to her entitlement to means tested benefit, although in practise this doesn’t always happen.  The LA should check that is in his/her best interest to apply the disregard.

Note that if he is LA or CHC funded AA won’t be payable.

He is self-funding.

Very useful info, thanks very much.