Q My mother is 63 and has not paid enough National Insurance to qualify for a state pension. Now my dad has died, what happens?

A She can claim a retirement pension based upon your father's National Insurance, regardless of what she has paid herself. The standard rate of basic pension is £72.50 a week. If he was not getting retirement pension when he died, she could receive a £2,000 bereavement payment as well.

Q My State Pension is £117.41 a week, plus private pension of £83.65 after tax. Can I get a rebate on my council tax of £85 a month?

A Assuming your capital is under £6,000, you should get a rebate of £7.45 a week.

Q Taking your advice, I claimed a rebate bringing my council tax down to £150 a year. Soon my incapacity benefit of £74.59 will be replaced by retirement pension of £155.13 and my wife's pension will go up from £36.91 to £43.40. My works pension will remain at £216 a month. How much of my £737 council tax will I have to pay?

A All of it.

Q My incapacity benefit will shortly be increasing because I have been on the sick for a year. Will I have to pay more rent and council tax? I am under 60.

A No. You should pay less. This is because, after a year's sickness, the Government thinks you need more money to live on.

Q I have been made redundant but the JobCentre says I cannot get jobseeker's allowance (JSA) until the last pay from my job (£4,000) has run out. Are they right?

A It depends what your £4,000 consists of. Redundancy payments are ignored. If you have payments in lieu or severance pay, you will have to wait for JSA until the period covered by the payments has passed.

QWhat is the upper limit of savings when claiming council tax benefit?

A £16,000 but, as other income is taken into account, you may not qualify even if you have less