Advice required regarding joint benefit entitlements.

[pinkribbon]

Hi & thank you for taking the time to read my post. I am glad that I found this website as I have been having trouble finding the information I need online elsewhere.

I am currently living alone with my 3 children aged 6, 12 & 15. I am in receipt of Income support with a lone parent add on, DLA (both components) at low & middle rate, SDP due to having no carer, & child tax credits. I have met someone special over the last few months & we are considering getting married next year & starting to live together now that my treatment for Cancer has finished. My boyfriend is in receipt of long term incapacity benefit due to a forces injury. He is looking for a job ATM, but just in case this takes a while, I would like to find out how our entitlements would stand should we still be claiming at the time of our marriage.

I have found this whole thing very confusing! I have no idea whether He would have to claim Incapacity benefit (or the new Income & support allowance) for us both, or whether I, or he, would need to claim Income support for us both.

I would be most grateful if there is a member who could advise me on these issues I have, & perhaps give me a guide as to how much our joint entitlements would be weekly. I know that I would loose the SDP, but have no idea about anything else!

Thanks in advance for your help.

Best wishes,

PR.

[ErikaPNP]

You would possibly lose your means tested benefits but retain non means tested benefits. This means you may lose Income Support, but would continue to receive DLA and he would continue to receive IB (until the change-over to ESA which will happen eventually to all IB claimants).

 

However without knowing the exact rates it is hard to say - there are differing rates of DLA(mobility), DLA(care) and IB.

 

Try putting what your details would be into the website: Start Calculation to get a guide.

[kinkyklee]

hi

dont take my word as gospel but i think that he would maybe claim for you as a family ie-the income support,but i think he would be able then to claim carers allowance for you wouldnt he?either way i dont think you`ll be losing alot between you,the tax credits would be the same..

income support is around £201 evry 2 weeks for a couple,your tax credits must be around £120 weekly..hopefully your claiming housing benefit etc so thats out the way to be honest its better to be on the incom support than the icapity as all perscripstion,dental,eye test etc are free if you claim icb you have to contribute to the price of all these so it may be beneficial for you to ring a benefits advisor or even do the calculator online just to see about the monies that would be coming in..

i am not a finacial advisor,im just saying what i think.

good luck

[MIKEY DABODEE]

on what you have said in your post and of course not knowing the full facts this is what I think you could claim.

 

If you get married and are claiming as a lone parent your Income Support would close

 

If you are claiming Incapacity Benefit as well it could stay open and you could claim for your husband, but if you are not that is not an option.

 

He however could put a new claim in for Income Support because he has Incapacity Benefit that would be his condition of entitlement and could claim for you and your family

 

check out the figures on the link but this what you would get if he made the claim

 

Income support couple rate, plus the disability premium couple rate, you would of course lose your SDP,

 

you would keep your DLA that would not be effected

 

but if he receives any Incapacity Benefit then that would be treated as an Income in other words it would come off your income support

 

He can claim carers allowance for you but if Incapacity Benefit is in payment to him will get the Underlying Entitlement, but do put in for it as you will always be about £29 per week better off as you will get the Carers Premium on your Income Support

 

You will keep your CTC and Chb and be entitled to Housing Benefit if you qualify for I.S

also you may be entitled to the higher rate DLA care give them a ring

if you do the you will get another premium on your income support its called the enhanced disability premium

 

hope this helps

good luck with everything

Edited August 7, 2009 by MIKEY DABODEE

[ErikaPNP]

You can no longer claim Income Support on the grounds of incapacity, if you are making a fresh claim. This ended in October last year. All new claims for incapacity now go via Employment and Support Allowance.

[MIKEY DABODEE]

have checked this out and as

PinkRibbon states that her partner is in receipt of Long term Incapacity benefit and therefore he can make a claim for Income Support for himself and pinkribbon as long as he has his Incapacity Benefit at the time she moves in,

 

He is not a new claim for sickness he already has IB and they can claim I.S

Edited August 7, 2009 by MIKEY DABODEE

[ErikaPNP]

IB is based on NI contributions, IS is not. They have both been claiming as single people. If he made a claim for IS after moving in, as they would then be a couple it would be an entirely new claim, and as such would need to be claimed as ESA.

 

It would be far better financially if he continued with his IB, don't you think? As IB is not means tested, he will always get to retain it so long as he is unfit for work - he may even be able to work a small portion of hours/wage without it affecting his IB. If he claimed IS they may well lose it, if for any reason the household income increased. If they lose her IS they are only losing that one benefit.

 

Pinkribbon, it may also be worth your while getting in touch with the veterans agency - they may be able to help too.

Edited August 7, 2009 by ErikaPNP

[pinkribbon]

Hello everyone & thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment. I have found the information you have given very helpful & I am now much clearer on the entitlement situation. Thanks for the vet advice also. I will mention this to him (although he hates to talk about his army days!)

Very best wishes

PR xx

[MIKEY DABODEE]

They can claim Income Support as a new claim on his grounds of Incapacity as a couple

 

If they phone 0800 055 066 88 this will confirm it

 

his IB would be taken into account against their IS

as I have said they would be paid

 

£100.95 plus £39.15 couple DP less his IB

 

dont know how much ESA they would be entitled to

I can just confirm how much IS they would get

[MIKEY DABODEE]

DWP toolbar:

 

 

 

The main client groups which qualify for IS are:

• lone parents
  
• carers
  
• certain sick or disabled people who claim IS after 27.10 08 but have a linking claim to IS on the grounds of incapacity prior to that date
  
• existing customers who are sick or disabled and in receipt of IS prior to 27.10.08 and who continue to receive IS after that date
  
• people in receipt of SSP
  
• pregnant women
  
• people on parental or paternity leave.
  

Edited August 8, 2009 by MIKEY DABODEE

[Emma1973]

The main client groups which qualify for IS are:

• lone parents
  
• carers
  
• certain sick or disabled people who claim IS after 27.10 08 but have a linking claim to IS on the grounds of incapacity prior to that date
  
• existing customers who are sick or disabled and in receipt of IS prior to 27.10.08 and who continue to receive IS after that date
  
• people in receipt of SSP
  
• pregnant women
  
• people on parental or paternity leave
  

 

But he is none of the above so his new claim would have to be for ESA

[MIKEY DABODEE]

a new claim can be processed on the grounds of IB he would not have to claim ESA

its covered by the IS/IB linking rule

 

and if this is not a known fact then this surprises me

CAB would know of this and Welfare Rights

 

We see it every week as they refer them to IS

 

If he has IB and tries to claim ESA then it would be referred to I.S and IB

 

any way what the OP decides to do

Erika has provided good links for her,

Edited August 9, 2009 by MIKEY DABODEE