Pension Credit and Housing benefit 3 month backdating

Can anybody tell me if the 3 month backdating rule will still apply after April 8th?

If not this will potentially impact on couples where only one of them is over PCr qualifying age if a claim is not made before 8/4.
If the rule still exists then it should delay the impact of the move to change the qualifying criteria for PCr as it will enable claims to be made up to the beginning of July for those couples likely to be affected and will help them avoid having to jump through the JSA/ESA/Universal Credit hoops.

Many thanks

Where do you get April 8th as the cut-off date from?

There seems to be an urban legend that the pensioner/working age split in UC is going to replicated for existing claimants of legacy benefits from April 2013, but I have seen nothing to indicate that this is the case.  As far as I can tell the change that says both members of a couple must be of SPC age to get SPC is going to be phased in for new claimants as UC gradually rolls out.  Meanwhile, it’s as you were for existing claimants of HB, SPC and CTR and indeed for new claimants of those benefits/reductions for as long as new claims are accepted.

PS: I should add that even in the UC pathfinder areas, there are to be no claims from couples and no claims from singles aged over 60.5 years, so it looks to me as if the new age rules will not apply to anyone anywhere for several months at least.

I agree that I haven’t seen a date yet but I don’t think that there will be a gradual rollout.

DWP have said that:

‘Mixed age’ couples (where one member is over Pension Credit qualifying age but the other is under) already in receipt of Pension Credit (PC) at the effective date will be allowed to remain on it.

Existing PC customers who “acquire” a partner below PC qualifying age after the effective date will lose their entitlement to it and will have to claim Universal Credit (UC).

‘Mixed age’ couples who lose entitlement to Pension Credit will lose their protection and will be required to claim UC on the next occasion.

New claims from mixed age couples after the effective date will be claims to UC.

That seems to say there will be one ‘effective date’.

NB. It’s now official that becoming a couple with a younger partner will kick you off PC.  My splitting and reconciling tactic will not work.  People will get a partner but see a real reduction in income.