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Can’t access occupational pension until aged 75 - still taken into account for pension credit?
Dear all,
Quick question: I have a client who cannot access a small occupational pension until aged 75. It states this on her current occupational pension statement. The DWP have seen this yet still appear to be taking it into account with a pension credit calculation.
When looking at the info from CPAG (pp.328-331) reference is made to retirement pension income that you can draw from but chose not to which is not the case here. When looking at the legislation there isn’t any more detail from what I can see.
In this case it is not about choice - the pension does not come to fruition until her 75th birthday.
Do notional income rules still count? How should the pension be assessed?
Best,
EKS
Reg 18 of SPC Regs specifies that claimant should be treated as having any retirement income “for which the claimant might expect to be entitled if a claim for it were made”.
If the claimant elected to defer the pension until age 75 (even if she cannot access it earlier), then she may be treated as having notional income from it but otherwise she is not entitled to the income until age 75 so it should not be treated as notional income until age 75.
maybe you should write to the pension provider and ask them to confirm in writing that even if your client were to ask for her pension now she can’t have it as the pension terms don’t allow her to have until until her 75th birthday. them writing a clear letter in those terms should surely sort the problem.
otherwise, it’s a trip to tribunal
When was it agreed/stipulated that she can’t access the pension until aged 75?
If it was done before she ever thought of claiming PC, the notional income rule cannot apply as intention is vital.
Many thanks everyone.