The Social Security (State Pension Age Claimants: Closure of Tax Credits) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024

Closure of tax credits - migration of pension age claimants to universal credit N.I.

2.—(1) The Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016(1) are amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (5).

(2) In regulation 2(1) (interpretation) in the appropriate place insert—

““tax credit closure notice” means a notice issued under Article 3A (tax credit closure notice) of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 32 and Savings and Transitional Provisions) Order 2019(2);”.

(3) In regulation 45(3) (migration notice)—

(a) after paragraph (3) insert—

“(3A) But where a migration notice is issued after cancellation of a previous migration notice or after cancellation of a tax credit closure notice the deadline day may be within such shorter period as the Department considers appropriate.”; and

(b) after paragraph (5) insert—

“(5A) In a case referred to in paragraph (5)(a) the Department may, instead of cancelling the migration notice, treat that notice as if it were a tax credit closure notice issued to that person and may treat the deadline day in the migration notice as if it were the deadline day in a tax credit closure notice.”.

(4) In regulation 57(4) (circumstances in which transitional protection ceases)—

(a) in paragraph (1) after “paragraph (2)” insert “, (3A)”;

(b) in paragraph (2) after “assessment period”, where it is first mentioned, insert “other than an assessment period in relation to an award of universal credit mentioned in regulation 61A(1) (waiver of upper age limit for claimants migrated from tax credits)”; and

(c) after paragraph (3) insert—

“(3A) This paragraph applies to an assessment period in relation to an award of universal credit mentioned in regulation 61A(1) (waiver of upper age limit for claimants migrated from tax credits) which—

(a) is not one of the first 12 assessment periods; and

(b) is the assessment period after the third consecutive assessment period in which the claimant’s earned income, (or, if the claimant is a member of a couple the couple’s combined earned income) is less than the amount that a person would be paid at the hourly rate set out in regulation 4 of the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015(5) for 16 hours a week converted to a monthly amount by multiplying by 52 and dividing by 12.”.

(5) After regulation 61(6) (protection for full-time students until course completed) insert—

“Waiver of upper age limit for claimants migrated from tax credits

61A.— (1) Where a qualifying claim is made by—

(a) a single claimant who, at the time the migration notice is issued—

(i) has reached the qualifying age for state pension credit;

(ii) is entitled to an award of working tax credit; and

(iii) is not entitled to an award of state pension credit; or

(b) joint claimants both of whom satisfy the criteria in sub-paragraph (a)(i) to (iii) at the time the migration notice is issued,

then, subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), the condition in Article 9(1)(b) of the Order (claimant has not reached the qualifying age for state pension credit) is not to apply for the purposes of determining entitlement to universal credit in respect of the qualifying claim or any award made in respect of that claim.

(2) The reference in paragraph (1) to a person who is entitled to an award of working tax credit includes a person who meets the entitlement conditions for both that credit and child tax credit.

(3) Paragraph (1) ceases to apply in respect of an award of universal credit mentioned in paragraph (1) in an assessment period in which—

(a) a transitional element or transitional capital disregard would cease to apply by virtue of regulation 57 (circumstances in which transitional protection ceases) or regulation 58 (application of transitional protection to a subsequent award); or

(b) a person who is entitled to an award of universal credit by virtue of paragraph (1) makes a claim for state pension credit.

Deferral of retirement pension income

61B.— (1) Where, at the time a migration notice is issued, the notified person—

(a) has reached the qualifying age for state pension credit;

(b) is entitled to an award of a tax credit; and

(c) has not made an application for retirement pension income to which they might expect to be entitled,

regulation 74 (notional unearned income) of the Universal Credit Regulations is not, subject to paragraph (2), to apply in relation to that person for the purpose of calculating the amount of an award of universal credit (including the indicative UC amount) until the assessment period following the first 12 assessment periods of an award made in respect of a claim by that person.

(2) This regulation ceases to apply in an assessment period in which a transitional element or transitional capital disregard would cease to apply by virtue of regulation 57 (circumstances in which transitional protection ceases) or regulation 58 (application of transitional protection to a subsequent award).

(3) In this regulation “retirement pension income” has the same meaning as in regulation 67 (meaning of “retirement pension income”) of the Universal Credit Regulations.

Exemption from the benefit cap

61C.   Where a qualifying claim is made by a single claimant who has, or joint claimants both of whom have, reached the qualifying age for state pension credit, regulation 79 (circumstances where the benefit cap applies) of the Universal Credit Regulations is not to apply for the purpose of calculating the amount of an award of universal credit (including the indicative UC amount).”.

Commencement Information

I1 Reg. 2 in operation at 8.6.2024, see reg. 1(1)

(1)

S.R. 2016 No. 226; relevant amending Regulations are by S.R. 2019 No. 152, S.R. 2022 No. 194 and S.R. 2023 No. 3

(2)

S.I. 2019/167 (C. 6)

(3)

Regulation 45 was inserted by regulation 2(8) of S.R. 2019 No. 152 and amended by regulation 6 of, and paragraph 1(7) of the Schedule to S.R. 2022 No. 194

(4)

Regulation 57 was inserted by regulation 2(8) of S.R. 2019 No. 152 and amended by regulation 3 of S.R. 2023 No. 3

(5)

S.I. 2015/621; relevant amending Instruments are S.I. 2015/1724, S.I. 2016/68, S.I. 2017/465, S.I. 2018/455, S.I. 2019/603, S.I. 2020/338, S.I. 2021/329, S.I. 2022/382, S.I. 2023/354 and S.I. 2024/432

(6)

Regulation 61 was inserted by regulation 2(8) of S.R. 2019 No. 152 and amended by regulation 11 of S.R. 2022 No. 194