Twice Yearly Grants to Older Ladies – Supplementary Guidelines on Supporting Evidence

Overview

New applications

Evidence must be seen by the referring organisation, as detailed below.

Re-applications over the summer months for the Autumn distribution (November payment)

Evidence must be seen by the referring organisation, as detailed below.

Re-applications over the winter months for the Spring distribution (May/June payment)

Referring organisations may choose whether to accept verbal reporting of financial information from ladies or visually check evidence.

If evidence is required that the applicant lives alone

• Council Tax bill confirming name/address and single person discount.

Income

• Up-to-date DWP letter confirming the applicant’s State Pension and any Pension Credit. Please use these figures to input an accurate breakdown onto the applicant’s application. The letter will also indicate whether the applicant is in receipt of any disability payments (e.g. Attendance Allowance, DLA, PIP) and these must also be established and included on her application. The applicant’s National Insurance number can be obtained from this letter. If the applicant has mislaid her letter, she can request a further copy from the DWP by telephone on 0800 731 0469.
• Supporting paperwork for any private pension. If this is paid monthly then multiply by 12 and divide by 52 to get a weekly figure.
• Recent bank statement covering at least one full calendar month to cross-check with the pension figures provided and to obtain information on any other income, e.g. disability payments. (Please also see below regarding cash, savings and investments.)
• If the applicant has a Motability car, the notional value (i.e. the equivalent weekly benefit amount) must be included on the application. If you are unsure what this figure should be, then please contact the Charity.
• For those ladies below State Pension age who are receiving an annual payment from us, please request sight of latest DWP benefits letters/payslips in conjunction with their bank statements.

Cash, savings and investments

Please advise applicants that the following items must be included in the figure given:

• Cash and current accounts*
• Bank and building society savings accounts
• Any post office accounts
• National savings accounts and certificates
• Any ISAs
• Stocks and shares
• Premium bonds
• Income bonds
• Property other than the main home