Originally Posted by bigmac
thanks Terpe.
also
that line seems ambiguous---i think the threshold age is now higher than 60--although i got guarantee credit at 60--6 years ago.
and it extends beyond 65---for the same reasonOKNot sure where that's from bigmac... perhaps I ought to explain for the sake of clarity.
During the 1990s, I suffered a bout of reactive depression arising from two close family bereavements, viz- the sudden, unexpected death of my father ... followed, in fairly quick succession, by the premature passing of my first wife in the wake of a lengthy period of illness.
Fortunately, my daughter had, by then, graduated from university and begun a career in her chosen profession as a Speech & Language Therapist with Grampian Health Board ... while my son was about to start work locally on completion of a Youth Training Scheme (YTS) leading, in turn, to good secure employment as a cycle mechanic.
So I decided to apply for early retiral on health grounds from an administrative post I'd held for many years with the former Tayside Regional Council's Social Work Department - a decision I've never regretted- and consequently received a protected index-linked occupational pension in addition to a severance allowance in the form of a substantial *lump sum commensurate with my lengthy years of uninterrupted service.
Notwithstanding this stroke of luck, *nest eggs do not last foreverand, on turning sixty in September 2004, I contacted The DWP to inquire into the possibility of retired men being able to claim all or part of their State Pension at the same age as women ...
... based on the premise of equal opportunities.
So that led to me learning about Pension Credit ... until then I'd never even heard of it!
Thankfully, I qualified for the Guaranteed Element I mentioned in #2 ... and believe me, it turned out to be a "godsend" for someone in my situation. Although, I have to admit, that when the time came for sponsoring my present wife's Spousal Visa back in January 2009, I worried myself sick throughout the waiting period, lest her application be refused because I might've been perceived by an ECO to be, well ... claiming a "type of benefit".
Benefit or not, my wife's visa was approved in just over 4 weeks and later the same year, my entitlement to GPC automatically ceased when I qualfied for State Pension at age 65, in my case.
Immigration Rules have changed significantly all round since then, of course, therefore I have no idea how things stand for sponsors who are receiving Pension Credit nowadays.
BIG MAC ... but my understanding is, that unless there've been any recent overhauls in the age entitlements to Guaranteed Pension Credit, it's still claimable between 60 and 65 only - with PC Savings Credit being reserved for those aged 65 and over as Terpe indicates.
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