The Social Security (Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit, State Pension Credit and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2004

Amendment of the State Pension Credit Regulations 2002

7.—(1) The State Pension Credit Regulations 2002 M1 shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions of this regulation.

(2) In regulation 1(2) (interpretation), after the definition of “Eileen Trust” insert—

““equity release scheme” means a loan—

(a) made between a person (“the lender”) and the claimant;

(b) by means of which a sum of money is advanced by the lender to the claimant by way of payments at regular intervals; and

(c) which is secured on a dwelling in which the claimant owns an estate or interest and which he occupies as his home;”.

(3) At the end of regulation 15(5) (income for the purposes of the Act), add—

“(j) any payment made at regular intervals under an equity release scheme.”.

(4) At the end of regulation 16 (retirement pension income), add—

“(m) any payment made at regular intervals under an equity release scheme.”.

(5) In Schedule II (housing costs)—

(a) in paragraph 4(11)(c), for head (i) substitute—

“(i) detained in custody on remand pending trial or, as a condition of bail, required to reside—

(aa) in a dwelling, other than the dwelling he occupies as his home; or

(bb) in premises approved under section 9 of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000,

or, detained pending sentence upon conviction; or”;

(b) in paragraph 14—

(i) in sub-paragraph (1), for paragraphs (a) to (c) substitute—

“(a) in respect of a non-dependant aged 18 or over who is engaged in any remunerative work, £47.75;

(b) in respect of a non-dependant aged 18 or over to whom paragraph (a) does not apply, £7.40.”;

(ii) in sub-paragraph (7)—

(aa) at the end of paragraph (e), insert “ or ”;

(bb) after paragraph (e), add—

“(f) if he is in receipt of state pension credit.”.

(6) In paragraph 4(a) of Schedule V (capital disregarded for the purpose of calculating income) for the words from “partner” to “claimant” substitute “ person who is a close relative, grandparent, grandchild, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece of the claimant or of his partner ”.

Marginal Citations

M1 S.I. 2002/1792. The relevant amending instruments are S.I. 2002/3197 and S.I. 2003/2274.