Accessing Pension pot and affect on benefits

Hi
I am after some advice as just cant seem to find the answer!
I have a client who accessed his pension pot pre retirement age. Client on UC at the time. Client left some of the money in the pension pot and correctly only the capital he did access was used in calculating his benefits and the rest ignored as under SPA.
However, client turned state pension age last week and is single household, claim HB and CTR.
This claim has been refused by stating client has access to remaining pension pot amount so this will be treated as capital now they are pension age and not disregarded.
Is this correct as the pot was first accessed pre pension age?

Many thanks
Paula

Yes it is correct. As you note, any lump sum withdrawal from pension pot made whilst under SPA is treated as capital (unless it’s a regular payment of course in which case treated as income).

Once the person hits SPA, then they are expected to realise the value of the pension pot one way or the other, so can have notional capital rules applied. The fact they took some of the pension pot out pre-SPA is neither here nor there.

Thanks for this. Do you have the regulation which applies?
Paula

Reg.47 of the Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations 2006.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006/214/regulation/47

ETA - Actually, I’m immediately doubting myself - surely it’s just capital that he could access if he contacted the pension provider?

Got there in the end, it’s actually notional income rules that are applied to an unclaimed pension pot.

See para.10 onwards of this HB guidance note.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/424144/a7-2015.pdf

Padula - 28 June 2023 10:36 AM

However, client turned state pension age last week and is single household, claim HB and CTR.
This claim has been refused by stating client has access to remaining pension pot amount so this will be treated as capital now they are pension age and not disregarded.
Is this correct as the pot was first accessed pre pension age?

Any remaining amount from the original withdrawal will be capital but anything remaining in the pot won’t be.  Instead it will generate a notional income.  This is based on the GAD tables and we have a reckoner for the calculation at https://www.webreckoners.com/ although it’s in the set with a small annual charge.

The GAD tables haven’t been updated since 2017 but given change sin bond yields etc. I would expect them to be reassessed fairly soon.