The State Pension Credit (Consequential, Transitional and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003

Payability of state pension credit

7.—(1) In regulation 16(4)(1) (date of entitlement under an award), after “income support”, there shall be inserted “, state pension credit”.

(2) After regulation 16, there shall be inserted the following regulation –

“Date of entitlement under an award of state pension credit for the purpose of payability and effective date of change of rate

16A.—(1) For the purpose only of determining the day from which state pension credit is to become payable, where the credit is awarded from a day which is not the first day of the claimant’s benefit week, entitlement shall begin on the first day of the benefit week next following.

(2) In the case of a claimant who –

(a)immediately before attaining the qualifying age was entitled to income support or income-based jobseeker’s allowance and is awarded state pension credit from the day on which he attains the qualifying age; or

(b)was entitled to an income-based jobseeker’s allowance after attaining the qualifying age and is awarded state pension credit from the day which falls after the date on which that entitlement ends,

entitlement to the guarantee credit shall, notwithstanding paragraph (1), begin on the first day of the award.

(3) Where a change in the rate of state pension credit would otherwise take effect on a day which is not the first day of the claimant’s benefit week, the change shall take effect from the first day of the benefit week next following.

(4) For the purpose of this regulation, “benefit week” means the period of 7 days beginning on the day on which, in the claimant’s case, state pension credit is payable in accordance with regulation 26B.”.