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The State Pension Credit Regulations 2002

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Point in time view as at 25/07/2006.

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PART IIEntitlement and amount

[F1 Persons not in Great Britain

2.—(1) A person is to be treated as not in Great Britain if, subject to the following provisions of this regulation, he is not habitually resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland.

(2) No person shall be treated as habitually resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland unless he has a right to reside in (as the case may be) the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland other than a right to reside which falls within paragraph (3).

(3) A right to reside falls within this paragraph if it is one which exists by virtue of, or in accordance with, one or more of the following—

(a)regulation 13 of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006;

(b)regulation 14 of those Regulations, but only in a case where the right exists under that regulation because the person is—

(i)a jobseeker for the purpose of the definition of “qualified person” in regulation 6(1) of those Regulations, or

(ii)a family member (within the meaning of regulation 7 of those Regulations) of such a jobseeker;

(c)Article 6 of Council Directive No.2004/38/EC; or

(d)Article 39 of the Treaty establishing the European Community (in a case where the person is seeking work in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland).

(4) A person is not to be treated as not in Great Britain if he is—

(a)a worker for the purposes of Council Directive No.2004/38/EC;

(b)a self-employed person for the purposes of that Directive;

(c)a person who retains a status referred to in sub-paragraph (a) or (b) pursuant to Article 7(3) of that Directive;

(d)a person who is a family member of a person referred to in sub-paragraph (a), (b) or (c) within the meaning of Article 2 of that Directive;

(e)a person who has a right to reside permanently in the United Kingdom by virtue of Article 17 of that Directive;

(f)a person who is an accession State worker requiring registration who is treated as a worker for the purpose of the definition of “qualified person” in regulation 6(1) of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 pursuant to regulation 5 of the Accession (Immigration and Worker Registration) Regulations 2004;

(g)a refugee within the definition in Article 1 of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees done at Geneva on 28th July 1951, as extended by Article 1(2) of the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees done at New York on 31st January 1967;

(h)a person who has been granted exceptional leave to enter the United Kingdom by an immigration officer within the meaning of the Immigration Act 1971, or to remain in the United Kingdom by the Secretary of State;

(i)a person who is not a person subject to immigration control within the meaning of section 115(9) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 and who is in the United Kingdom as a result of his deportation, expulsion or other removal by compulsion of law from another country to the United Kingdom; F2...

(j)a person in Great Britain who left the territory of Montserrat after 1st November 1995 because of the effect on that territory of a volcanic eruption][F3; or.

(k)a person in Great Britain who left Lebanon on or after 12th July 2006 because of the armed conflict there.]

Textual Amendments

F2Word in reg. 2(4)(i) omitted (temp. until 31/1/2007) (25.7.2006) by virtue of The Social Security (Lebanon) Amendment Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/1981), regs. 1(1), 4(2)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1Reg. 2(4)(a)-(e) applied (with modifications) (30.4.2006) by The Social Security (Persons from Abroad) Amendment Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/1026), regs. 1, 10(h) (with reg. 11(2))

Persons temporarily absent from Great Britain

3.—(1) A [F4claimant's] entitlement to state pension credit during periods of temporary absence from Great Britain is to continue—

(a)for up to 4 weeks in the circumstances specified in paragraph (2);

(b)for up to 8 weeks in the circumstances specified in paragraph (3).

(2) The circumstances specified in this paragraph are that—

(a)the period of the claimant’s absence from Great Britain is unlikely to exceed 52 weeks; and

(b)while absent from Great Britain, the claimant continues to satisfy the other conditions of entitlement to state pension credit.

(3) The circumstances specified in this paragraph are that—

(a)the period of the claimant’s absence from Great Britain is unlikely to exceed 52 weeks;(b)Ìwhile absent from Great Britain, the claimant continues to satisfy the other conditions of entitlement to state pension credit;

(c)the claimant is accompanying a young person solely in connection with arrangements made for the treatment of that person for a disease or bodily or mental disablement; and

(d)those arrangements relate to treatment—

(i)outside Great Britain;

(ii)during the period whilst the claimant is temporarily absent from Great Britain; and

(iii)by, or under the supervision of, a person appropriately qualified to carry out that treatment.

(4) In paragraph (3),

(a)“young person” means a person who [F5is a child or qualifying young person within the meaning of] section 142 of the 1992 Act and lives with the claimant or the claimant’s partner; and

(b)“appropriately qualified” means qualified in providing medical treatment, physiotherapy or a form of treatment which is similar to, or related to, either of those forms of treatment.

Textual Amendments

Persons receiving treatment outside Great Britain

4.—[F6(1)] For the purposes of the Act, a person who is not in Great Britain shall be treated as being in Great Britain during any period in which he is receiving treatment at a hospital or other institution outside Great Britain if the treatment is being provided under section 3 of the National Health Service Act 1977 M1 or pursuant to arrangements made under section 23 of that Act or paragraph 13 of Schedule 2 to the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990M2.

[F7(2) Paragraph (1) applies only where—

(a)the “person” is the claimant or his partner; and

(b)the claimant satisfied the conditions for entitlement to state pension credit immediately before he or, as the case may be, his partner, left Great Britain.]

Textual Amendments

Marginal Citations

M11977 c. 49; the power in section 23 has been delegated to Health Authorities by regulation 2(1) of and Schedule 1 to the NHS (Functions of Health Authorities and Administrative Arrangements) (England) Regulations 2001 (S.I. 2001/747). It has been delegated to Primary Care Trusts by regulation 3(2)(a) of and Schedule 1 to the Primary Care Trust (Functions) (England) Regulations 2000 (S.I. 2000/695).

Persons treated as being or not being members of the same household

5.—(1) A person is to be treated as not being a member of the same household as the claimant if—

(a)he is living away from the claimant and—

(i)he does not intend to resume living with the claimant; or

(ii)his absence is likely to exceed 52 weeks except where there are exceptional circumstances (for example the person is in hospital or otherwise has no control over the length of his absence), and the absence is unlikely to be substantially more than 52 weeks;

(b)he or the claimant is permanently in a care home [F8or an independent hospital];

(c)he or the claimant is, or both are—

(i)detained in a hospital provided under the provisions of the Mental Health Act 1983, the [F9Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003], or the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995; or

(ii)detained in custody pending trial or sentence upon conviction or under a sentence imposed by a court; or

(iii)on temporary release in accordance with the provisions of the Prison Act 1952 M3 or the Prison (Scotland) Act 1989M4;

(d)the claimant is abroad and does not satisfy F10... regulation 3 (persons temporary absent from Great Britain).

[F11(e)either he or the claimant is not in Great Britain and is not treated as being in Great Britain in accordance with regulation 4;]

[F12(f)he is absent from Great Britain—

(i)for more than 8 weeks where he is accompanying a young person solely in connection with arrangements made for the treatment of that person for a disease or bodily or mental disablement, and those arrangements relate to treatment outside Great Britain by, or under the supervision of, a person appropriately qualified to carry out the treatment, during the period whilst he is temporarily absent from Great Britain; or

(ii)for more than 4 weeks in all other cases.]

F13(g). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[F14(h)he is a person subject to immigration control within the meaning of section 115(9) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999]

(2) Subject to paragraph (1), partners shall be treated as members of the same household notwithstanding that they are temporarily living apart.

[F15(3) in paragraph (1)(f) “young person” and “appropriately qualified” shall have the meaning given to them in regulation 3(4).]

Textual Amendments

Marginal Citations

Amount of the guarantee credit

6.—(1) Except as provided in the following provisions of these Regulations, the standard minimum guarantee is—

(a)[F16£174.05] per week in the case of a claimant who has a partner;

(b)[F17£114.05] per week in the case of a claimant who has no partner.

(2) Paragraph (3) applies in the case of—

(a)prisoners; and

(b)members of religious orders who are fully maintained by their order.

(3) In a case to which this paragraph applies—

(a)section 2(3) has effect with the substitution for the reference to the standard minimum guarantee in section 2(3)(a) of a reference to a nil amount; and

(b)except in the case of a person who is a remand prisoner, nil is the prescribed additional amount for the purposes of section 2(3)(b).

(4) Except in a case to which paragraph (3) applies, an amount additional to that prescribed in paragraph (1) shall be applicable under paragraph (5) if the claimant is treated as being a severely disabled person in accordance with paragraph 1 of Part I of Schedule I.

(5) The additional amount applicable is—

(a)except where paragraph (b) applies, [F18£46.75] per week if paragraph 1(1)(a), (b) or (c) of Part I of Schedule I is satisfied; or

(b)[F19£93.50] per week if paragraph 1(1)(b) of Part I of Schedule I is satisfied otherwise than by virtue of paragraph 1(2)(b) of that Part and no one is entitled to and in receipt of an allowance under section 70 of the 1992 Act in respect of caring for either partner.

(6) Except in a case to which paragraph (3) applies, an amount additional to that prescribed in paragraph (1) shall be applicable—

(a)if paragraph 4 of Part II of Schedule I is satisfied (amount applicable for carers);

(b)in accordance with Part III of Schedule I (amount applicable for former claimants of income support or income-based jobseeker’s allowance); or

(c)except where paragraph (7) applies, in accordance with Schedule II (housing costs).

(7) This paragraph applies in the case of a person who has been detained in custody for more than 52 weeks pending trial or sentence following conviction by a court.

(8) The amount applicable if paragraph 4 of Part II of Schedule I is satisfied is [F20£26.35] per week, and in the case of partners, this amount is applicable in respect of each partner who satisfies that paragraph.

(9) In the case of a remand prisoner paragraph (6) shall apply as if sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) were omitted.

(10) In this regulation, “remand prisoner” means a person who, for a period not exceeding 52 weeks, has been detained in custody on remand pending trial or, as a condition of bail, required to reside in a hostel approved under section 27(1) of the Probation Service Act 1993 M5 or, as the case may be, detained pending sentence upon conviction.

Textual Amendments

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

Marginal Citations

Savings Credit

7.—(1) The percentage prescribed for the purposes of determining—

(a)the maximum savings credit is 60 per cent.;

(b)“amount A” in section 3(4) is 60 per cent.;

(c)“amount B” in section 3(4) is 40 per cent.

(2) The amount prescribed for the savings credit threshold is [F21£84.25] for a claimant who has no partner and [F21£134.75] for a claimant who has a partner.

(3) The maximum savings credit shall be taken to be Nil in the case of—

(a)prisoners; and

(b)members of religious orders who are fully maintained by their order.

[F22(4) If a calculation made for the purposes of paragraph (1)(b) or (c) results in a fraction of a penny, that fraction shall, if it would be to the claimant’s advantage, be treated as a penny; otherwise it shall be disregarded.]

Textual Amendments

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

Special groups

8.  Schedule III shall have effect in the case of members of polygamous marriages and patients.

Qualifying income for the purposes of savings credit

9.  For the purposes of section 3 (savings credit), all income is to be treated as qualifying income except the following which is not to be treated as qualifying income—

(a)working tax credit;

(b)incapacity benefit;

(c)a contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance within the meaning of section 1(4) of the Jobseekers Act 1995 M6;

(d)severe disablement allowance;

(e)maternity allowance;

(f)payments referred to in regulation 15(5)(d) (maintenance payments).

Marginal Citations

Assessed income period

10.—(1) For the purposes of section 6(2)(b) (circumstances in which the Secretary of State is prevented from specifying an assessed income period), the circumstances are—

(a)in the case of partners, one partner is under the age of 60; or

(b)state pension credit is awarded, or awarded at a higher rate, because an element of the claimant’s retirement provision which is due to be paid to the claimant stops temporarily.

[F23(c)that—

(i)the Secretary of State has sent the claimant the notification required by regulation 32(6)(a) of the Claims and Payments Regulations; and

(ii)the claimant has not provided sufficient information to enable the Secretary of State to determine whether there will be any variation in the claimant’s retirement provision throughout the period of 12 months beginning with the day following the day on which the previous assessed income period ends.]

(2) The circumstances prescribed for the purposes of section 7(4) (circumstances in which assessed amounts are deemed not to change) are that—

[F24(a)except where sub-paragraph (b) applies, the arrangements under which the assessed amount is paid contain no provision for periodic increases in the amount payable; or]

(b)the assessed income comprises income from capital other than income to which paragraph (7) applies.

(3) Paragraphs (4) and (5) do not apply where the assessed amount comprises income from capital.

(4) Where the Secretary of State is informed that the arrangements under which the assessed amount is paid contains provision—

(a)for the payment to be increased periodically;

(b)for the date on which the increase is to be paid; and

(c)for determining the amount of the increase,

the assessed amount shall be deemed to increase from the day specified in paragraph (5) by an amount determined by applying those provisions to the amount payable apart from this paragraph.

[F25(5) The day referred to in this paragraph is—

(a)in a case to which paragraph (5A) applies—

(i)where the first increased payment date is the day on which the benefit week begins, that day;

(ii)where head (i) does not apply, the first day of the next benefit week which begins after that increased payment date;

(b)in a case to which paragraph (5A) does not apply—

(i)where the second increased payment date is the day on which the benefit week begins, that day;

(ii)where head (i) does not apply, the first day of the next benefit week following that increased payment date.

(5A) This paragraph applies where the period which—

(a)begins on the date from which the increase in the assessed amount is to accrue; and

(b)ends on the first increased payment date,

is a period of the same length as the period in respect of which the last payment of the pre-increase assessed amount was made.

(5B) In paragraphs (5) and (5A)—

“increased payment date” means a date on which the increase in the assessed amount referred to in paragraph (4) is paid as part of a periodic paymentF26...; and

“pre-increase assessed amount” means the assessed amount prior to that increase.]

(6) Except where paragraph (4) applies, the assessed amount shall be deemed to increase—

[F27(a)on the day in April each year on which increases under section 150(1)(c) of the Administration Act come into force if that is the first day of a benefit week but if it is not from the next following such day; and]

(b)by an amount produced by applying to the assessed amount the same percentage increase as that applied for the purposes of additional pensions under section 150(1)(c) and 151(1) of the Administration Act.

(7) Where the assessed amount comprises income from capital, it shall be deemed to increase or decrease—

(a)on the first day of the next benefit week to commence [F28on or after] the day on which the income increases or decreases; and

(b)by an amount equal to the change in the claimant’s income produced by applying to his income changes made to the yields capital is deemed to produce, or to the capital amounts, specified in regulation 15(6), or to both if both are changed.

(8) In paragraph (6), “pay day” means the day on which state pension credit is normally paid to the claimant.

Textual Amendments

Retirement provision in assessed income period

11.  Where an element of a person’s retirement provision ceases to be payable by one source but—

(a)responsibility for that element is assumed by another source, income from both those sources shall be treated as income from the same source; or

(b)in consequence of that element ceasing, income of a different description becomes payable from a different source, that income shall be treated as income of the same description from the same source as the element which ceased to be payable.

End of assessed income period

12.  An assessed income period shall end at such time as—

(a)the claimant no longer satisfies a condition of entitlement to state pension credit;

(b)payments of an element of the claimant’s retirement provision which is due to be paid to him stops temporarily or the amount paid is less than the amount due and in consequence his award of state pension credit is superseded under section 10 of the Social Security Act 1998M7;

(c)a claimant who has no partner is provided with accommodation in a care home [F29or an independent hospital] other than on a temporary basis.

Textual Amendments

Marginal Citations

Small amounts of state pension credit

13.  Where the amount of state pension credit payable is less than 10 pence per week, the credit shall not be payable unless the claimant is in receipt of another benefit payable with the credit.

[F30Part-weeks

13A.—(1) The guarantee credit shall be payable for a period of less than a week (“a part-week”) at the rate specified in paragraph (3) if—

(a)the claimant was entitled to income support or an income-based jobseeker’s allowance immediately before the first day on which the conditions for entitlement to the credit are satisfied; and

(b)the claimant’s entitlement to the credit is likely to continue throughout the first full benefit week which follows the part-week.

(2) For the purpose of determining the amount of the guarantee credit payable in respect of the part-week, no regard shall be had to any income of the claimant and his partner.

(3) The amount of the guarantee credit payable in respect of the part-week shall be determined—

(a)by dividing by 7 the weekly amount of the guarantee credit which, taking into account the requirements of paragraph (2), would be payable in respect of a full week; and then

(b)multiplying the resulting figure by the number of days in the part-week,

any fraction of a penny being rounded up to the nearest penny.

Textual Amendments

Date on which benefits are treated as paid

13B.—(1) The following benefits shall be treated as paid on the day of the week in respect of which the benefit is payable—

(a)severe disablement allowance;

(b)short-term and long-term incapacity benefit;

(c)maternity allowance;

(d)contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance within the meaning of section 1(4) of the Jobseekers Act 1995.

(2) All benefits except those mentioned in paragraph (1) shall be treated as paid on the first day of the benefit week in F31... which the benefit is payable.]

Textual Amendments

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