The State Pension Credit (Consequential, Transitional and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2002

PART VII E+W+S TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

Persons entitled to income support immediately before the appointed day E+W+S

36.—(1) This regulation applies in the case of any person (referred to as “the transferee”) who—

(a) immediately before the appointed day, is entitled to income support; and

(b) attains or has attained the qualifying age on or before the appointed day.

(2) The transferee shall be treated as having made a claim for state pension credit in the period of 6 months immediately preceding the appointed day.

(3) The Secretary of State shall, so far as practicable, decide before the appointed day a claim for state pension credit treated as made under paragraph (2).

(4) A decision of the Secretary of State made in accordance with paragraph (3) may be revised by the Secretary of State at any time within the period of 13 months commencing on the date of notification of the decision if an application is made by the claimant to the Secretary of State or a person acting on his behalf for the decision to be revised.

(5) For the purposes of section 9 (duration of assessed income period), the decision of the Secretary of State takes effect on the appointed day.

(6) Notwithstanding the provisions of regulation 26B(4) of the Claims and Payments Regulations M1 , state pension credit may in the case of a transferee be payable in arrears if the income support to which he was entitled before the appointed day was paid in arrears.

(7) [F1 Notwithstanding the provisions of Schedule 3B of the Decisions and Appeals Regulations,] in the case of a transferee to whom paragraph (6) applies, any decision under section 10 of the 1998 Act which—

(a) supersedes a decision awarding state pension credit to a transferee; and

(b) is made on the ground that there has been a relevant change of circumstances since the decision was made or that it is anticipated that a relevant change of circumstances will occur,

shall take effect from the first day of the benefit week in which the change occurs or is expected to occur.

[F2 (7A) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (7), where the relevant change of circumstances is that the transferee becomes a patient M2 again within the same benefit week in which he ceased to be a patient, the superseding decision in respect of becoming a patient again shall take effect from the first day of the benefit week following the benefit week in which the change occurs.]

(8) For the purpose of paragraph (7), “benefit week” means the period of 7 days ending on the day on which, in the claimant’s case, state pension credit is payable.

(9) Any payment made to a transferee to whom paragraph (10) applies—

(a) in respect of a period falling on or after the appointed day;

(b) which would have been payable under an award of income support but for the coming into force of the Act,

shall be offset against any state pension credit payable under an award on or after 6th October 2003 on a claim treated as made under paragraph (2).

(10) This paragraph applies to a transferee in respect of whom no decision has been made on his claim for state pension credit which is treated as having been made in accordance with paragraph (2).

(11) If the Secretary of State determines that no state pension credit is payable, or that the amount payable is less than the payments referred to in paragraph (9), he shall determine the amount of the overpayment.

(12) The amount of any overpayment determined in accordance with paragraph (11) shall be recoverable by the Secretary of State by the same procedures and subject to the same conditions as if it were recoverable under section 71 (1) of the Administration Act.

(13) Where the transferee—

(a) has, immediately before the appointed day, an award of income support payable by direct credit transfer in accordance with regulation 21 of the Claims and Payments Regulations; and

(b) state pension credit is payable or treated as payable to him as from the appointed day,

the state pension credit shall be paid by direct credit transfer into the same bank or other account as the payment of income support; and for this purpose, any application made or treated as made and any consent given or treated as given in relation to the payment of income support shall be treated as made or given in relation to the payment of state pension credit.

(14) Where—

(a) the transferee had immediately before the appointed day an award of income support from which deductions were made or where part of the benefit was paid to a third party in accordance with—

(i) regulation 34A of, and Schedule 9A to, the Claims and Payments Regulations (mortgage interest payments); or

(ii) regulation 35 of, and Schedule 9B to, those Regulations (deductions which may be made and payments to third parties); and

(b) state pension credit is payable or treated as payable to the transferee as from the appointed day,

then as from the appointed day, those deductions shall be made from the transferee’s state pension credit and those payments of part of the benefit shall continue to be made to the third party in accordance with those provisions.

(15) F3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(16) F3 [F4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(17) F3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(18) F3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(19) F3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .]

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in reg. 36(7) inserted (6.10.2003) by The State Pension Credit (Transitional and Miscellaneous Provisions) Amendment Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/2274), regs. 1, 3(a)

F2 Reg. 36(7A) inserted (6.10.2003) by The State Pension Credit (Transitional and Miscellaneous Provisions) Amendment Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/2274), regs. 1, 3(b)

F3 Regs. 36(15)-(19) omitted (21.5.2003) by virtue of The Social Security (Hospital In-Patients and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/1195), regs. 1(a), 9

F4 Regs. 36(16)-(19) inserted (7.4.2003) by The State Pension Credit (Consequential, Transitional and Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Regulations 2002 (S.I. 2002/3197), regs. 1(1)(a), 7(4)(b)

Marginal Citations

M1 Inserted by regulation 9 above.

M2 “Patient” means a person (other than a prisoner) who is regarded as receiving free in-patient care within the meaning of the Social Security (Hospital In-Patients) Regulations 1975 (S.I. 1975/555).

Assessed income period E+W+S

37.—(1) A person to whom paragraph (2) applies shall have an assessed income period allotted to him by the Secretary of State of at least 5 years but not exceeding 7 years beginning on the day the decision takes effect, unless regulation 10(1) of the State Pension Credit Regulations applies in his case.

(2) This paragraph applies to the first assessed income period specified in respect of a person who—

(a) attains or has attained the age of 65 or whose partner attains or has attained that age on or before the appointed day; and

(b) is awarded state pension credit with effect from the appointed day.

Claims for state pension credit E+W+S

38.—(1) A claim for state pension credit may be made before the appointed day by a person who is not in receipt of income support at the time the claim is made.

(2) Where the Secretary of State is satisfied that unless there is a change in the claimant’s circumstances before the appointed day he will satisfy the conditions for entitlement to state pension credit on that day, then the Secretary of State may—

(a) treat that claim as if made for a period beginning with the appointed day; and

(b) award benefit accordingly, but subject to the condition that the claimant does in fact satisfy those conditions when benefit becomes payable under the award.

(3) A decision under paragraph (2)(b) to award benefit may be revised under section 9 of the 1998 Act if the requirements for entitlement to state pension credit are found not to have been satisfied on the appointed day.

(4) A claim for state pension credit made in the period of 12 months beginning with the appointed day may be treated as made on that day if the claimant satisfied the conditions for entitlement to state pension credit on that day.

(5) A person who does not fall within paragraph (4)—

(a) solely because he does not satisfy the conditions for entitlement to state pension credit on the appointed day; but

(b) does satisfy those conditions on a day after the appointed day but before the day on which the claim is received by the Secretary of State,

shall be treated as having made the claim on the day the conditions were first satisfied in his case.

(6) A claim for income support made in the period of 6 months preceding the appointed day may be treated also as a claim for state pension credit if the claimant—

(a) is not entitled to income support; and

(b) has attained the age of 60 on the date the claim is made or will have attained that age on the appointed day.

(7) Paragraphs (2) and (3) shall apply to a claim treated as made under paragraph (6) as they apply to a claim made under paragraph (1).

(8) In the case of a person who—

(a) on the appointed day has attained the qualifying age;

(b) was, within the period of 6 months preceding the appointed day, entitled to income support; and

(c) was not entitled to income support on the day immediately preceding the appointed day,

that person shall be treated as having made a claim for state pension credit for a period beginning on the appointed day.

(9) The Secretary of State may treat a claim for state pension credit made in accordance with paragraph (1) as also a claim for income support made on the same day.