Contracted-out mixed benefit meaning

ARCHIVED This Practice Note summarises the state support potentially available to older clients and clarifies how means testing operates for both income and capital. It also considers the rules on deliberate deprivation of income or assets, both for social security benefits and for local authority care charges under the Care Act 2014. Benefits for older people fall into three strands: contributory (dependent on sufficient National Insurance contributions), non‑contributory and non‑means‑tested (based on status such as age or disability), and means‑tested (assessed against the claimant’s income and capital). Relevant Benefits Pension and pension related benefits New State Pension Graduated Retirement Benefit (historic entitlement) Guaranteed Minimum pension—contracted out rights Pension Credit—guarantee credit and saving credit War pensions—where applicable Disability—related benefits Attendance Allowance Personal Independence Payment (for those below State Pension age) Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit Means-tested benefits Pension Credit Housing Benefit—for claimants over the State Pension age...

Section 18 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 (IHTA 1984) Section 18 sets out an inheritance tax (IHT) exemption for transfers of value between spouses and civil partners. The spouse exemption is unrestricted, except where a transfer—whether during lifetime or on death—is from a long-term resident (LTR) spouse to a spouse who is not LTR; in that case, the exemption is limited under IHTA 1984, s 18(2). From 6 April 2025, long-term residence replaced domicile for determining liability to IHT. An individual qualifies as LTR if they have been UK resident for at least ten of the 20 tax years immediately preceding the tax year in which an IHT charge arises. A person may still be LTR even with periods of non-UK residence within that 20-year span, so long as their cumulative UK residence is at least ten years. For more information on long-term residence, see Practice Notes: A new residence-based regime for IHT from 2025–26 and New IHT regime from 6 April 2025—FAQs...