in_receipt_of_savings_credit_only ignores whether Pension Credit is paid #2372

in_receipt_of_savings_credit_only (policyengine_uk/variables/gov/dwp/pension_credit/savings_credit/in_receipt_of_savings_credit_only.py) returns eligible & would_claim & (guarantee_credit <= 0) & (savings_credit > 0), and under gov.contrib.freeze_pension_credit it returns the baseline value. It never checks that Pension Credit is paid.

Consequence

Under a reform that stops Pension Credit being paid, for example

Scenario(simulation_modifier=lambda sim: sim.tax_benefit_system.neutralize_variable("pension_credit"))

a savings-credit-only family still counts as in receipt. With or without the Pension Credit freeze, the pensioner Council Tax Reduction schemes (council_tax_reduction_applicable_income, council_tax_reduction_assessable_capital; SI 2012/2885 Sch 1 para 14, WSI 2013/3029 Sch 1 para 8, SSI 2012/319 reg 25) and pension-age Housing Benefit (housing_benefit_applicable_income, housing_benefit_tariff_income, housing_benefit_assessable_capital; SI 2006/214 reg 27) keep using the Pension Credit assessment for an award the family no longer has.

Example, 2026: a single person aged 90 with a State Pension of £12,480, £12,000 of savings and other property worth £5,000, owning in Maidstone with council tax of £2,000. Unreformed, they get a savings credit of £601.02 and no guarantee credit. With Pension Credit neutralised, pension_credit is 0, but in_receipt_of_savings_credit_only stays true. So the Council Tax Reduction capital test still uses the Pension Credit assessment of £17,000, which is over the £16,000 limit, and the reduction is £0. The scheme's own rule (savings of £12,000) gives £2,000.

Fix

Mirror #1987, which does this for the sibling in_receipt_of_guarantee_credit: compute paid = benunit("pension_credit", period) > 0 and require it on the normal path and on the freeze path (return paid & baseline...).

In the unreformed model pension_credit = pension_credit_entitlement * would_claim_pc, with entitlement equal to guarantee credit plus savings credit for an eligible family. Eligible, claiming and savings_credit > 0 therefore already imply a payment, so unreformed outputs do not change.