Commentary on Sections Schedule 24 – Social security, child support and tax credits Part 4 – Amendments to the Social Security Administration Act 1992 (c. 5)
820.Paragraph 55 amends the definition of “couple” in section 2AA to align it with the new definition introduced into the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 for the purposes of entitlement to the income-related benefits (see commentary on paragraphs 42 to 46 above).
821.Paragraph 56 extends to civil partners the special late claim provisions for bereavement benefits in cases where death is difficult to establish.
822.Paragraph 57 extends the conditions under which mortgage interest payments are made within income support and jobseeker’s allowance (income-based) to ensure that civil partners are treated in the same way as married couples and that same-sex couples who live together as if they were civil partners are treated in the same way as opposite-sex couples who live together as husband and wife.
823.Paragraphs 58, 59 and 60 provide that the provisions relating to overlapping benefits and for the recovery of overpayments and social fund awards applicable to both members of a couple, regardless of which one is the claimant, will also apply to civil partners and same-sex couples who live together as if they were civil partners.
824.Paragraph 61 provides that where maintenance payments are being collected on behalf of an income support or income-based jobseeker’s allowance claimant, the same arrangements will apply to same-sex couples as currently apply to opposite sex couples. Where part or the whole of any payments are retained, they are disregarded in the calculation of the claimant’s benefit.
825.Paragraphs 62 and 63 extend the provisions on liability to maintain for income support and jobseeker’s allowance (income-based) to civil partners. Where one spouse or civil partner claims, the other member of the couple may be required to make payments which offset some or all of the benefit paid unless or until the couple divorce or, as the case may be, dissolve their civil partnership.
826.Paragraph 64 ensures that, like spouses, civil partners shall not be required to provide information which could incriminate their partner.
827.Paragraph 65 amends the definition of “war widow’s pension” for the purposes of allowing local authorities to disregard these pensions within the calculation of council tax benefit, to reflect the fact that surviving civil partners will be able to qualify for these pensions.
828.Paragraph 66 applies the same annual uprating rules to civil partners awarded a state pension on the basis of their deceased partner’s contributions as currently apply to spouses. Where a person has in payment an additional state pension on the basis of the contributions of a deceased civil partner as well as an additional state pension based on their own contributions, the uprating order shall not apply in respect of the contributions of the deceased civil partner where the civil partner died in the tax year preceding the tax year in which the uprating order comes into force and the person’s final relevant tax year was an earlier tax year. The uprating order shall not apply in respect of the contributions of the person where their final relevant tax year is the tax year preceding the tax year in which the uprating order comes into force and the deceased civil partner’s final relevant year was an earlier tax year.