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<p>Pension Credit is intended to provide long term support for people who have permanently
retired from the labour market on grounds of age.</p><p> </p><p>The Government does
not believe it is right that different labour market conditions should apply to people
below State Pension age based on the age of their partner. The younger partner in
a mixed age couple should have the same incentives to work and save for their own
retirement as other people of the same age. Unlike Pension Credit, which in most cases
allows couples to retain only £10 a week of earned income, Universal Credit provides
clear incentives for people to find and progress in work. The younger partner in a
mixed age couple claiming Universal Credit will get the personalised support provided
by Work Coaches to help them find and progress in work where appropriate. If the younger
partner is unable to work because of disability or caring requirements, additional
amounts may be payable and conditionality requirements adjusted.</p><p> </p><p>No
work-related requirements will be applied to the older partner and there is no effect
on entitlement to, or ability to receive, a State Pension.</p><p> </p><p>This change
does not apply to couples already claiming Pension Credit and/or Housing Benefit for
pensioners on 14 May 2019 for as long as they remain entitled to either benefit.</p><p>
</p><p>In means-tested benefits, couples in a household are treated and assessed as
a single unit rather than on an individual basis. The rate for a couple is lower than
the rates would be for two single people to take account of lower aggregate living
expenses for a couple. There is no evidence from elsewhere in the tax-benefit system
that this leads to couples separating. In developing the policy, it was judged that
the strategic objective of maintaining contact with the labour market and incentives
to save for retirement outweighed the risk of genuine separation, given this lack
of evidence.</p>
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