Can I claim backdated benefit if I am of Working
Age?
As previously mentioned, entitlement will usually start on the
Monday following the date of claim.
In order to request backdating you must have a valid claim for
Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit; the request must be made in
writing giving the reasons why the claim was not made earlier.
A claim may be backdated if it is considered that the claimant
has "good cause" or "good reason" for not claiming earlier and the
"good cause" lasted for the whole period until the claim was made
(there does not have to be one good cause throughout the period you
want the claim backdated to, you can have several different
reasons.) It will be down to the claimants' or
appointees' responsibility to prove the "good cause".
A claim can be backdated for a Working Age
person (a claimant and partner who is under 60 years of
age) for a maximum of six months.
There may be many reasons considered as being "good cause" or
not "good cause" for a claim to be backdated; the general rule is
was it reasonable for a person of their age, health and experience
to react the way that they did.
Can I claim backdated benefit if I am of Pension Age?
If you a Pension Age Person
(a customer and/or partner who is 60 years of age or over), your
claim can automatically go back three months without you having to
request this (providing that you and or partner are over 60 during
those three months and you are entitled to Housing
and or Council Tax Benefit during that period).
If the claim is required to be backdated a further three months
then as in Working Age claims you will need to have "good cause"
for the whole of the requested backdated period (see Working Age
section).
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