Can anyone clarify whether or not a client remains eligible for the SDP when he/she enters a care/nursing home?

I was contacted by a client yesterday who is trying to establish what will happen to her mother's benefits when she enters a care/nursing home ( not sure which yet ). Mother is 96 and currently receives AA and the pension guarantee credit. As mother currently lives alone she receives the SDP as part of her applicable amount.

I assumed, (which I should know not to do by now),that the SDP would no longer be payable on entering a care home as mother no longer living alone, however both the Disability Rights Handbook ( p170) and CPAG (P892) would suggest it is. Please note; due to our v.small bureau these are still last years editions! Neither source explicitly states client remains entitled but that is my conclusion from the information given. Am I correct in thinking this. Clarification would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Sarah

She would still be treated as living alone and would continue to receive the severe disability addition if her AA continued to be paid. However, it is likely that her AA will cease after 28 days following admission into care and as a result of that change the severe disability addition would also cease. AA ceases as a result of funding from the local/health authority. There are exceptions such as deferred payers and self funders but to go into detail in this response would just confuse matters. Well it would confuse me!

Many thanks

Shaun

Thank you very much Shaun. Have already established that mother will be completely self funding so entitlement to AA should continue. ( She will actually be self-funding by selling her home so have advised she will lose PC anyway due to extremely high level of capital she will have, at least initially, and the amount of tariff income this will generate, but wanted to be clear on the SDP anyway).

Hi Sarah

Confusion has already started. Just to be clear your SDP is the Income Support equivalent of the severe disability addition for Pension Credit. It is not a benefit in its own right. You can receive AA but no Pension Credit (after including the severe disability addition in the Pension Credit caculation) if income is too high.

Many thanks

Shaun

Yes, no, sorry! Am using the wrong terminology and I do mean to refer to the sda element of PC and not sdp payable with IS, thus causing the confusion. Maybe because it's lovely and sunny and I'd really rather be outside.

Hi Sarah

You say she would be completely self funding - If she still possesses her home and has less than £21,000 in other capital she would be entitled to assistance from Social Services until she sells her property (subject to Social Services agreement that she requires residential care).

Whilst she will have to repay Social Services on the sale of the property there are a number of advantages to obtaining financial assistance,
1. she will only pay a contribution from her income for the first 12 weeks as Social Services will have to disregard the property for this period.
2. Social Services often negotiate a lower weekly fee for clients that are funded by them than 'private' clients.
3. In most cases it is an interest free loan (SSD's can only charge interest if they are not repaid prior to the clients death, or if they are not repaid upon the sale of the property).

Hi Sarah

At 96 I would expect to see an Assessed Income Period (AIP)in her PC award.

So any new capital would not stop an on going PC / GT award until the AIP finishes.

I'm not absolutely certain about this but these are my thoughts on the AIP issue:

1. I think that her AIP would come to an end when she goes into care (Reg 12 SPC Regs).

2. A new 5-year AIP might begin but s9(2) SPC Act allows for no AIP (or a shorter one) to be set if her retirement provision at the time of claim is unlikely to be typical of her retirement provision throughout the following 12 months.