Incapacity question

[GolfCaddie]

Incapacity question,

In the past 18 months my father (in his fifties) has been certified by the doctor as been unable to work as well has having been assesed by an independent body as unable to work. When he applied for incapacity benifit he was told that he couldnt recieve it, but that the would pay his N.I stamp.

My father used to be self employed and over the past 6 years or so let his N.I contributions slip . As a result that is why he wasn't able to claim incapactiy benifit as the way I understand it, you have to have your N.I contributions up to date for the 2 previous tax years to be able to cliam incapacity.

i belive that come the end of this tax year my fathers N.I contributions will be up to date albeit that they have been payed by the govenment...

Am i right in thinking that he can now re-apply for incapacity benefit (form SC1)? As I have been recently told that the type of national contributions that the government pay on his behave are not the correct type of contributions and that only the type of contributions payed from been in employment will account?

Any advice as I' am completely confused......

[Parkvale]

Are You Eligible For Incapacity Benefit?
You may be able to get Incapacity Benefit if any of the following apply to you:

your Statutory Sick Pay has ended, or you can't get it
you were under State Pension age when you became sick

or you must:

• be aged between 16 and 20 (or under 25 if you were in education or training at least three months immediately before turning 20)
• have been too ill to work because of sickness or disability for at least 28 weeks
• have been too ill to work before you turned 20 (or under 25 if you were in education or training at least three months immediately before turning 20)

If you’ve been living or working abroad

If you have been living or working abroad, this may affect your benefits claim. You may be able to claim benefits if you have either:

• Paid UK National Insurance Contributions in the past (or the equivalent in other certain countries).
• Worked abroad under an employer who is based in the UK and paid National Insurance Contributions for the first 53 weeks of your employment.

If you haven't paid enough National Insurance contributions

If you have not paid enough National Insurance Contributions, you may be able to claim benefits if the following apply to you:

• Are under the age of 20
  • Or 25 if you have been in education or training for at least three months before turning 20
  Have been ill for 28 weeks
• Are a present resident in Great Britain for 26 weeks in the year before making your claim

If you have been in the Armed Forces or you live and work within the European Economic Area, you should be treated as resident of the UK.What are the Incapacity Benefit Rates?

How much is Incapacity Benefit?
The benefit is paid in three different weekly rates. These rates are:

• short-term (lower) IB is paid for the first 28 weeks - currently £59.20/week (£75.35 for OAPs)
• short-term (higher) IB is paid from weeks 29 to 52 - currently £70.05/week (£78.50 for OAPs)
• long-term IB is paid from week 53 - currently £59.20/week

You may be able to receive additional benefits if you qualify for the “age addition” with the long-term benefits if you were under 45 when you became to ill or disabled to work. Additional benefits may also be available for your partner or child carer that looks after your children.

How Do You Apply For Incapacity Benefit?

• You may apply for these benefits by filing a claim online, contacting your local Jobcentre Plus or downloading the claim form online

[patrickq1]

hi sorry to hear of your troubles i am going through simmillar problems
park could you please have a look at JOAs thread and make this a sticky
patrickq1
Benefits advice