June 2025 Newsletter | Cylchlythyr Misol Mehefin 2025
1. Are you a parent or carer who received child benefit between 1978 and 2010 and are not receiving the full State Pension? If so, the Government have identified issues in relation to the "Home Responsibilities Protection" scheme, which should have ensured parents and carers received full State Pension at retirement.
If you, or a family member, is not receiving the maximum State Pension and received child benefit between 1978 and 2010, contact Citizens Advice or Age UK to review your eligibility for a backdated pension payment and a higher State Pension going forward.
2. The Government's new Brexit deal included the ability of British nationals to use e-gates at airports when travelling to/from EU member states. This should help with travel plans in future, however, this will not impact your summer holiday plans as this measure will come into effect in October 2025, at the earliest.
If travelling with pets, restrictions remain for now, but individuals are finding novel ways of minimising disruption, such as registering their pet in an EU country (a Worcestershire couple recently registered their Jack Russell in Belgium!).
3. Do you pay for your energy using prepayment meters? Ofgem have announced that tens of thousands of individuals may receive pay-outs of up to £1,000 each (and potentially see energy debts written off) in response to the scandal of forced fitting of prepayment meters. We await further details from the energy providers.
Ask Huw & Aled
Q: My sister and I are acting as Lasting Power of Attorneys (LPAs) for our elderly mother, who no longer has the capacity to make financial decisions. She spent many happy years of her retirement living in Andalusia in Spain before returning to the UK a few years ago. She still owns the house in Andalusia and the property may need to be sold to fund her care home fees. Can this house be sold by me and my sister as her LPAs?
A: As reported in previous newsletters, any decisions you make for someone as an attorney must be right for them. If you and your sister decide that your mother would have sold the property, if she had capacity to make the decision, you have a significant amount of legal paperwork to complete to prove to the Spanish authorities that you are acting on her behalf.
Power of Attorney forms are not designed to be used overseas.
In this example, if your mother has no Spanish equivalent to a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA), you are dependent on the Spanish land registry and notary accepting the LPA forms. Significant additional documentation may be required, such as an affidavit from a UK solicitor confirming the validity of the LPA, which then must be translated into Spanish and legalised by an apostille.
Engage with a local specialist who has experience of dealing with international property owners and budget both time and money for the inevitable complications that will arise.
