Forum Home → Discussion → Residence issues → Thread
HB (Pension-age) and partner having NRPF
If HB claimant’s partner has NRPF, shouldn’t the income and capital of both members be taken into account in the award?
Housing-Rights.info says:
“For HB/CTR only one person is the claimant (HB 82(1); HB66+ 63(1)) so if only one member is eligible that person should make the claim. The award includes the allowance for a couple and the income and capital of both members is counted” (https://www.housing-rights.info/03_1_2_Housing_benefit_law.php#couples)
But the CPAG’s Benefit for Migrants Handbook (page 78) says if your partner is a person subject to immigration control, “this does not affect the amount of HB you are paid.”
Am I missing something?
Thanks very much!
It doesn’t affect it in the sense that the calculation is the same as it would have been if the partner were not a PSIC. They are just a regular couple.
Great - thank you very much. I was starting to doubt what I’d always thought was the case! In this case, the claimant is in receipt of Pension Credit, and as her income from work doesn’t affect his entitlement he’ll be passported to maximum HB anyway… I think!
Yes, there is a windfall in cases like this for people on Guarantee Credit. SPC itself completely ignores the partner, and if that results in a GC award it passports the claimant to full HB. If it’s Savings Credit only, the AIF is modified to include the partner’s income for HB though - there is a very sudden drop off.