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[maywillow] 08/1/2018 15:11

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Pensioners miss out on state benefits entitlement
January 8, 2018 - 2:34pm - Marina Gerner
42 per cent of pensioners entitled to state benefits are failing to claim them.

Four in 10 pensioners who are eligible for state support are failing to claim any benefit and miss out £1,013 on average as a result, according to financial services provider Just Group. In a survey of 217 of their clients, the company also found that a further two in 10 are claiming but not receiving their full entitlement.

Stephen Lowe, group communications director at Just, says: ‘At a time when many pensioners are struggling for income and inflation is rising, we have once again found far too many are missing out on state help.’

The research further reveals that in 2017 the average value of benefits underclaimed rose to £1,013, from £610 in 2016.

Guarantee pension credit – which is an income-related benefit that can top up a pensioner’s weekly income if it’s below £159.35 (for single people) or £243.25 (for couples) – accounted for the biggest unclaimed sums.
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‘One in three of those eligible for guarantee pension credit failed to claim, with an average loss of £3,431. All of those not claiming this benefit were missing at least £1,000 a year and in one case the loss was £8,060 a year.

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Lowe adds: ‘Council tax reduction is another area of concern where fewer than half of those eligible are claiming, and the average amount being lost is £491 a year.’

In the UK, about 88 per cent of pensioner couples and 63 per cent of single pensioners own their own homes, according to the Office for National Statistics. Lowe argues that as a consequence it is ‘possible that homeowners in particular may think limited support is available, although owning a property does not necessarily mean you have adequate income in retirement.’

Claire Trott, head of pensions strategy at Technical Connection, part of St James’s Place, comments: ‘This research shows again how complex retirement is, when life should be getting simpler. State benefits that have been earned over many years working life should be easy and simple to access for those who need them, and help should be available to navigate the system.

‘The levels of missed benefits quoted would make a significant difference to those in need and it is those in need who generally haven’t had the advice they need to know what they are missing out on. Providing easy and trusted guidance can only be a good thing for those who need it.’

Lowe concludes that the figures on missed benefits ‘strengthen the case for making free guidance the default option for all those heading into retirement – unless they specifically opt out – and that guidance should include information about entitlements to state help.’

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[sarkasm] 23/9/2017 07:52

Two million couples lose £662 windfall by failing to claim marriage tax break

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Millions of married couples are missing out on a tax break Credit: Alamy

Sam Meadows

23 September 2017 • 7:03am

Millions of married couples are missing out on as much as £662 because they are not claiming recently introduced tax breaks.

Figures released by HMRC under the Freedom of Information Act show that, while take-up is growing, around two million couples are missing out on the “marriage allowance”, which was introduced in 2015.

The allowance applies to married couples, and those in civil partnerships, where one partner is a basic-rate, 20pc, taxpayer and the other is not paying tax.

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It allows the non-taxpayer, who must be earning less than £11,500 a year, to transfer up to £1,150 of their unused tax-free allowance to their other half.
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At current rates the tax break is worth £230 per couple per year, but the claim can be backdated for the past two financial years, saving you £662 in total.

Uptake has risen from in 644,916 people in 2015-16 to 2.2 million this year. When the policy was introduced HMRC estimated that 4.2 million couples would be eligible, meaning there are still 2 million people failing to claim. That means families are collectively missing out on £1.3bn.

Steve Webb, director at insurer Royal London, which conducted the research, said: “The take-up of the new allowance is shockingly low. Even in its third year of operation, around two million couples who could benefit from the marriage allowance are not doing so.

“When family finances are so tight, I would encourage every married couple to check whether they might be eligible, including for the past two years, as they could qualify for a useful lump sum as well as a reduction in their ongoing tax bill.”

Couples can apply for the allowance online and will need to provide a National Insurance number for both partners as well as another form of ID from a given list.

You can backdate your claim to when the allowance was introduced in 2015, but to be eligible for previous years you must satisfy the criteria at the time. This means the lower earner must have been earning less than £11,000 last year and £10,600 the year before, and the higher earner must have been a basic-rate taxpayer for all the years they are claiming for.

Couples have up to four years to claim backdated allowances.

HMRC said earlier this year it has stepped up its marketing campaign to ensure people do not miss out. The marriage allowance will automatically renew every year until you stop it, or your circumstances change, due to death or divorce, for example.

Cohabiting couples miss out regardless of how long they have been together, as do couples where one is a higher-rate, 40pc, taxpayer. If the lowest earner brings in more than the tax-free personal allowance they also miss out as only unused allowances can be transferred.

[royaloak] 18/9/2017 22:08

goatherd, many thanks, I will look at this, it would make life a lot easier, cheers.

[goatherd] 18/9/2017 11:57

royaloak,

You can always attach a spreadsheet to an online return.

In your sort of circumstances I would prepare the spreadsheet and then include the totals in one or two lines (business & "non-business") of CGT return. I have done this sort of thing in the past and never had a query!

[royaloak] 17/9/2017 22:00

Many thanks MoneyMan18, yes it is sad, as you say it comes to us all, but nice to know that helpful people are appreciated and remembered.

[moneyman18] 17/9/2017 20:56

Sadly I believe all the evidence points to him having a heart attack and that's the end, a sadly missed poster, It will happen to us all in the end.

[royaloak] 17/9/2017 20:35

What happened to miata, I remeber him now, he and Gengulphus were incredibly helpful.

[royaloak] 17/9/2017 20:33

Thanks guys,

goatherd I also do a lot of cfd trading, and think that could be difficult to report online. I know I could use spread bets but prefer CFD's with direct market access. Mind as I get older I need to cut back on my short term trading, so maybe that will be the first to go so I can do online1

waldron, Paphos in Cyprus, around 2006 I was incredibly lucky with my investments and I was going to move to Cyprus as there is no CGT there and then take profits, but because of my wife's health problems at the time I was unable to move, and I ended up paying a massive amount in tax, such is life but as I said I was lucky so no complaints.

One of the shares I held was Hornby which I had started to buy in 2001, it was a multibagger, I had others that did really well, most with a speculative element so I could not afford the risk of keeping them...look at Hornby now1

Hence I ended up with a property in Cyprus.

[waldron] 17/9/2017 16:57

nice to see a helpful post

becoming rare these days

thumbs up for you goatherd

enjoy the coming week

miata would have awarded brownie points i am sure

cheers

[goatherd] 17/9/2017 16:45

royaloak,

Or until the end of January if you file on line!

Personally I think it is much easier than on paper (much of the information is remembered from previous years, as a start; all the calculations are done for you, there is copious help available at the touch of a button) and I would suggest it is worth the effort of trying it out, possibly in parallel with paper for the first year.

I do wonder whether paper will cease to be an option in due course.

[waldron] 17/9/2017 14:52

good luck your highness

just out of interest where abroad

[royaloak] 17/9/2017 13:50

Thanks david and waldron, much appreciated, box 47 was staring me in the face, I think it's because thay had altered the format completely that threw me. Almost everything I have is traded in ISA's now, but the longer term shares I had are still in none ISA's and I am dripping these out accordingly.

Mind I am also a bit shell shocked dealing with my return on a property I own abroad, which had until the end of the year been rented out for several years to one tenant only. When he left I switched to Holiday Lets and that from a tax perspective has also thrown up a few problems for me. Next year should be fine.

Luckily I have till the end of October for my paper return!

Thanks again guys.