Please can the Mature Times hopefully shine a light on changes now looming?
I have been greatly worried since speaking to someone who, after the Universal Credit was rolled out in her area, had to apply to the council for the re instatement of her Housing Benefit, under the council’s rules, and got into debt.
I receive the Guaranteed Pension Credit, due to my low income, and under the present system this overrides the council’s rules, regarding the level of assets allowed before receiving Housing Benefit.
My income then, was £53.00 a week, below the minimum amount to qualify. Since then, I have been bolstering my income and living frugally, to preserve what I can to continue helping me as I get older, and my health declines. I am now 74 years old.
Will the new rules, applicable after Universal Credit is rolled out in my area, affect my position?
Until I learned of and received the Guaranteed Pension Credit, my income was £97.00 a week. I was liable to pay full Council Tax and not eligible for Housing Benefit under council rules.
Now nothing is certain any more, and thinking about the future is quite frightening.
Mrs W. Reeve, Stockport
