My dad is about to reach pension age, he has MS and was medically retired from work 25 years ago so still got a basic wage. What we didn’t know was that we had to apply fro his state pension to start 4 months ago so now have to wait until may. However his ESA benefit is due to stop on his 65th birthday, so we will be without a decent amount of money coming in, only his PIP and my mum’s carers allowance. Myself and brother do help with shopping etc but is there anything else we can claim while we wait for the pension etc to kick in or keep as an extra?
Everything we keep reading is getting confusing feeling frazzled 
sorry for the whole story and thank you in advance for your help.
Hi Rebeeca … welcome to the canteen.
Where better to start … an online benefits calculator … treat it as a financial mot … all current beneits / allowances out there being claimed ?
https://www.entitledto.co.uk/
State pension ?
I too missed my start date by 4 months early last year.
One phone call ( 3 minute job ) and , hey presto , back payment in my bank account inside 10 days !
Regular as clockwork from the next month onwards.
How to apply ?
The new State Pension: How to claim - GOV.UK
Once that kicks in , wave goodbye to ESA … overlapping benefit rule … the state pension a " Benefit " ( Running bad joke on the forum ! ).
Ponder … and then return to us here on this forum,
Hi Chris,
Thank you for your help, i have looked at the benefit calculators and get so confused as the old names for benefits are still being used alongside the new ones. All they say is that we can get what we are already claiming - so the amount i put in. We don’t know what the pension will be when we get it. When mum tried calling the pension company they told her they couldn’t give it to us any earlier. Will the ESA stop come next Sunday then?
The way I interpret the guidance … ESA will cease when the State Pension age is reached.
The assumption being that the newly retired " Senior citizen " will drawdown the state pension immediately , or very soon thereafter.
No letter received advising of the pending pension two month’s prior to the actual date ( Government web site ) ?
One thing I forgot to mention that might throw a spanner in the works … Universal Credit.
Rolled out on your manor ?
https://ucpostcode.entitledto.co.uk/ucdate
A quick guide to the likely figure for the state pension … you’ll need to register first … or at least I did several years ago :
Check your State Pension age - GOV.UK
As matters currently stand , that phone call to apply for the state pension seems the quickest to produce some cash.
Ive been on the link and its the same as what i put in and UC is nothing different.
We have had nothing from anyone talking about pension hence the panic now.
You mention a “pension company”?? Does he have a company pension as well as the forthcoming state pension?
no just his state pension. i meant the state pension company couldn’t think of the name.
… in which case , the following link as posted earlier … follow to the letter :
The basic State Pension: Who gets the basic State Pension - GOV.UK
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How to claim
You will not get your new State Pension automatically - you have to claim it.
You should get a letter no later than 2 months before you reach State Pension age, telling you what to do.
If you do not get an invitation letter, you can still make a claim.
There are 4 ways to claim:
online.
over the phone. > ( My 3 minute job mentioned earlier. )
by downloading the State Pension claim form and sending it to your local pension centre.
from abroad, including the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
Rebecca
The State Pension age is gradually rising and is different for everyone depending on when they were born.
If Dads birthday is this weekend and he will be 65, he won’t actually reach State Pensions age until this May when he is 65 and 3 months and a few days
If this is the case, then he will claim pension from then.
You can check his State Pension age here
https://www.gov.uk/state-pension-age/y
His benefits won’t change until he reaches State Pension Age (whenever that is for him), not 65 which is earlier
You can also check how much he will get here
Hope this helps
MrsA
Good point Mrs. A.
Would explain why no letter received two months prior to potential drawdown.
( Now due sometime in March ? )
In which case , things to do in the future … status quo until a couple of weeks before that special day in May,