LTAHAW

I have a couple (no children) who recently got married but maintain separate dwellings and finances. She’s on IRESA and DLA. He’s on CA/IS. My advice was to inform DWP that they have married to keep themselves straight but they say that their benefits should be separate as they don’t share finances or houses. I think the fact of them getting married would mean they count as a couple even if in other repects they’re not LTAHAW but i’m not sure now. I’m fairly sure it would count as a change they have to report!

Any thoughts?

Check out CPAG p.210. You count as a couple if you’re both over 16 and are:

1. Married AND living in the same household; OR
2. Not married but LTAHAW; OR
3. Same sex, civil partners and living in the same household; OR
4. Of the same sex and living together as if you were civil partners.

Your “couple” should have separate benefit claims but it’s advisable to report the marriage.

The rules for HMRC-administered benefits are different. From memory, if you’re married and not separated, you are deemed to be a couple regardless of whether or not you live together.

Many thanks. I wasn’t sure if the living together bit was for married couples who’d separated

Edmund Shepherd - 12 March 2014 01:48 PM

The rules for HMRC-administered benefits are different. From memory, if you’re married and not separated, you are deemed to be a couple regardless of whether or not you live together.

But don’t bank on HMRC agreeing to terminate a single claim/accept a joint claim under those circumstances. I had a client in the same boat several years ago and TCO just couldn’t get to grips with it at all. In the end the client gave up on banging her head against a brick wall and her single claim remained in payment (she kept a careful record of all the phone calls she made as well as copies of the letters she sent to TCO on my advice but so far at least she hasn’t returned with an overpayment decision).