Hi,

Can anybody tell me if they've successfully challenged a decision by the Pension Service to include Adoption Allowance as income when calculating a Pension Credit award? Or if they know of any successful challenges?

The facts:

Joint claim Pension Credit.
Adoption Allowance being used as income when calculating the claim.
Couple also get Child Tax Credit.

I don't think that Adoption Allowance should be used as income for the purposes of a PC claim (because it isn't for IS), and told the Pension Service this in July. I've made numerous (an awful lot) of calls, and one complaint. The request to stop using the Adoption Allowance as income is now sitting on a Customer Response Team members desk, and I was promised a call on the 12th October. I'm about to complain to the Pension Centre Manager. They simply refuse to make a decision.

Again, can anyone supply some meat for me to serve up in my complaint sandwich?

Thanks.

Hi

Page 918 CPAGs welfare benefits and tax credits handbook. The first legal reference is to Section 15 State Pension Act 2002. This starts of with 'In this Act "income" means income of any of the following description.' Adoption Allowances is not listed as income of any of the following description and therefore is not income for PC purposes.

The Jobcentre plus may be confused by not having it listed as disregarded as income e.g. AA. AA is income that is disregarded for PC but an Adoption Allowance is just not income.

Thats the way that I see it but others could give a better definition.

Shaun

What's a CPAG? I must have hit a blind spot. Thank you very much.

I understand what you mean about their confusion, and I'm quite tolerant of confusion. It's the broken promises that annoy me.... I think their failure to pull the trigger and make a decison is down to the underpayment of around £24,000 worth of Pension Credits/MIG.

Sorry about the smiley. It was an accident. It's quite late in the day.

Child Poverty Action Group handbook book on welfare benefits and tax credits. 11th edition 2009/10. Cost £37.00.

Shaun

You want regulations 15 and 17B(4) of The State Pension Credit Regulations 2002. It is not prescribed income under regulation 15 and it is not counted as earned income under regulation 17B(4). In other words, it is disregarded.

Put in your complaint.I think they have 10 days to get you an interim reply.
If that fails use Independant Case Examiner (ICE ) to get onto it.
We had the the same trouble about delaying on a decision (where a client was paying tax on her state pension and they were taking gross figure into a/c on PC.)
ICE got invovled and payment was made with 4 years backdating I think.