Residental care and occupational pensions

Hope someone can help here.

I have a client who is permanently in a care home and has an occupational pension. According to the Welsh Assembly regulations we shoud disregard half of the pension as it can be paid to his partner. Is this counted as income for Pension Credit purposes for his wife? Wife is worried that if we disregard half and she does not declare this to PC that this could be counted as non-disclosure of an income.

Thanks

The half occupational pension is classed as spousal maintenance and is taken into account as income for Pension Credit.  As spousal maintenance does not appear to fall under the definition of ‘retirement provision’ I would say that it has to be declared even if an Assessed Income Period is in place.  This means that the person remaing in the community may not be any better off by receiving the half occupational pension.  If this is the case then a Welfare Rights officer, having done the calculations, can show a saving to a local authority.  It is obviously better for the local authority to be able to charge against the full occupational pension and it can do this if there is no advantage to the person in the community in having it passed over.  If the resident still wants to pass over half the occupational pension even if there is no advantage, then they should be allowed to do so.

Many thanks for your excellent reply. I wonder how many of our client who benefit from our disregard of a half share of occ pen declare it? Not many methinks..