Hello Everyboday,

I am mentally ill with 4 children and in 2006 asked my mother to come visit us from ghana. After being here for a while I realised how much help she was giving us so I asked her to stay. I now work full time but still struggling financially. In march this year she obtained an indefinite leave to remain in this country so advised her to apply for pension credit but she was refused because she is a person from abroad. She now lives here and has become part of our household. As with benefit we are allowed to appeal or ask for reconsideration but I don't know how to argue our case. Can anybody shed light on this issue for me?

Pension credit is paid to a person who qualifies for state retirement pension which is inadequate for their needs for basic living expenses.  To qualify for state retirement pension you need to have paid in to the national insurance system over many years, or a woman who hasn't paid in herself can qualify on her husband's contributions. 

If your mother, or her husband, have not lived in this country long enough to qualify for state retirement pension, 39 years minimum, then she would not qualify for pension credit either.

Our pensions and benefits system has always been on a contributory basis i.e. you pay in, you get something out.  Pension credit is a means-tested benefit and is a 'safety net' for those whose income is too low.  The previous Chancellor introduced this as a replacement for other 'safety net' type provisions, instead of increasing basic state pension.  It seems likely that your mother has been refused this because she does not qualify for state retirement pension, not having paid into our national insurance system.  There are countries with which we have a reciprocal agreement, but I am not sure if Ghana is one of them.  If an Englishwoman was to go to Ghana under a similar arrangement, would she be able to claim this benefit under their benefits system?

Thank you Margaret for that response. Things are a bit clearer now but I was under the impression that people over sixty no more qualifty for income support and therefore have to apply for pension credit instead. But answer to your question, my mother worked here in the sixties but might not be long enough to draw state pension.

You are right in thinking that people over 60 no longer qualify for income support but you were misinformed about what pension credit is.  Pension credit is income support under another name, but my understanding is that it is only paid to people who qualify for state retirement pension, either in their own right (for a woman at present, that takes 39 years to age 60) or under their husband's contributions, whichever is more favourable to them.

There are usually strict provisions for someone being allowed indefinite leave to stay.  I would check with the Home Office about this because on the stamp in the passport it may specify 'no recourse to public funds'. Even when people are allowed to work here they are not always allowed to claim any benefits that they have not paid in for. I would imagine that this may get stricter in the future, as our economy has ground to a halt and this country is heavily in debt.

In some countries it is specified that a person must have sufficient financial resources of her own, before being allowed to live here.  The financial climate we live in make that a definite possibility, I would have thought!

Hello Margaret,

Thank you for taking your time to reply. It has taken a load off me. The stamp didn't have no recourse to public funds on it but all the same I will check with the home office first.