After a bit of Help for Family

[charliesgranny]

Hi,

 

my daughter is 28 and pregnant with first child

 

she works fulltime on minimum wage lives with partner who earns £19, 000

 

they live in a 3bed private rented house and

 

the rent is £550 per month.

 

When the baby comes along and she is off work she will get smp but,

 

will they be able to claim anything to help them until she can get back to work?

 

Would they be able to get housing benefit or anything?

 

They have both always worked and have no idea when it comes to claiming benefits so any help is appreciated. Thanks

[Bazooka Boo]

Try this link, it should tell you what entitlements she may be able to claim...http://www.turn2us.org.uk/benefits_search.aspx

[Nystagmite]

She should get maternity pay and child benefit.

[Lapsed Workaholic]

Income = £19,000 per annum. = £1,583.33 per month.

Rent for 3 bedroom private house = £550 per month.

Salary left after payment of rent = £1,033 per month.

I can only dream of having problems like that

[newhereplease help]

She should claim for child benefit and child tax credits. Not sure about housing benefit tbh, her husbands wages seem to high. Try the link from bazooka boo above but it seems unlikely. And lapsed workaholic you forget to deduct income tax, national insurance and council tax

[Lapsed Workaholic]

I did not forget to deduct anything. It’s not my place to conduct an audit or a means test. I have no idea what those people’s circumstances are apart from what has already been disclosed.

 

They mentioned ‘partner’ rather than ‘husband’. Could one deduce from this that they might be taxed separately? The expectant mothers’ salary was not mentioned at all. They mention ‘smp’. Could this be income of some sort? You mention child benefits, which I believe is still paid to the mothers of small children.

 

I’m almost certain that deduction of the stoppages you mention will not reduce them to giving up a bedroom and becoming reliant on food banks.

[Bazooka Boo]

I have no idea what the point of Lapsed Workaholics posts really are?

[blondebubbles]

If their household income is less than £26,000 they may be able to claim child tax credits.

 

They can claim child benefit.

[charliesgranny]

Thanks for the replies guys. I have told them about turn 2 us but does anyone know roughly how accurate it is?

[blondebubbles]

Thanks for the replies guys. I have told them about turn 2 us but does anyone know roughly how accurate it is?

 

It is accurate if the details entered are accurate, it's easy to miss things. I find entitledto useful and the benefits checker on the mse site.

 

Alternatively your daughter or her partner could call the relevant offices.

 

Child benefit is a set amount, £20.50 per week for the first child.

 

Tax credits can do a calculations over the phone, they'd need to have their 2013/14 income and expected 2014/15 income to hand.

[charliesgranny]

Thankyou I will pass that on they may find it easier on the phone if they struggle with the online forms. They had a quick run through on turn2us and if they have done things correctly which it looks like they have they will get a bit of help including some help with rent.

[antone]

I did not forget to deduct anything. It’s not my place to conduct an audit or a means test. I have no idea what those people’s circumstances are apart from what has already been disclosed.

 

They mentioned ‘partner’ rather than ‘husband’. Could one deduce from this that they might be taxed separately? The expectant mothers’ salary was not mentioned at all. They mention ‘smp’. Could this be income of some sort? You mention child benefits, which I believe is still paid to the mothers of small children.

 

I’m almost certain that deduction of the stoppages you mention will not reduce them to giving up a bedroom and becoming reliant on food banks.

 

Means tested benefits are based on net income - your calculation used gross.

 

Partners are taxed separately, whether married or not. This isn't relevant, though, and I'm not sure why you think it is.

 

SMP = "Statutory Maternity Pay". It is counted as income when HB entitlement is worked out.

[Lapsed Workaholic]

Sorry Antone, I did not conduct a means test, either calculated on gross or net. I said that I didn’t know what their circumstances were, that includes their tax arrangements. I was under the impression that a husband could claim a tax deduction for his wife in certain circumstances. I seem to remember there being different tax bands for single people and for couples.

I did think that housing benefit was conditional in some way on the number of people living in the house, the number of rooms and total household income from whatever quarter. I thought that because the form I filled in for HB asked questions on all those points.

Anyway I wish them all, including the new arrival when it arrives, the very best. When I responded to this thread earlier today I had just left off reading the heart-rending story of the widow who struggled to take care of her mentally ill son while he lived and is now desperate to know how to secure the means with which to bury him. Almost overwhelmed with a feeling of hopelessness and inadequacy and sadness at being unable to help in that case. If only she had as many options.

[antone]

Sorry Antone, I did not conduct a means test, either calculated on gross or net. I said that I didn’t know what their circumstances were, that includes their tax arrangements. I was under the impression that a husband could claim a tax deduction for his wife in certain circumstances. I seem to remember there being different tax bands for single people and for couples.

I did think that housing benefit was conditional in some way on the number of people living in the house, the number of rooms and total household income from whatever quarter. I thought that because the form I filled in for HB asked questions on all those points.

Anyway I wish them all, including the new arrival when it arrives, the very best. When I responded to this thread earlier today I had just left off reading the heart-rending story of the widow who struggled to take care of her mentally ill son while he lived and is now desperate to know how to secure the means with which to bury him. Almost overwhelmed with a feeling of hopelessness and inadequacy and sadness at being unable to help in that case. If only she had as many options.

 

It sounds heartless sometimes, but if we are to offer advice, we need to be as dispassionate as possible. There's not a lot of point in telling a poster that there's someone who's worse off than they are: they already know that.

 

In terms of the factual matters - you are correct that HB is based on the number of people living in the house, kinda, sorta. Since it's a private let, the amount of HB payable will be based on the appropriate LHA rate for the OP's circumstances. A couple with one child will be entitled to HB that does not exceed the LHA rate for a flat or house with two bedrooms. The fact that they live in a three bedroom house does not disqualify them - all it means is that they can only be paid whatever is appropriate for a two bed place in their area. So, on balance, it seems likely that OP will not be entitled to HB but that depends very much on where she lives.

 

Tax wise, couples have been treated singly for some years now. But in any case, when means tested benefits are calculated, it is the net income of the household that is important, regardless of how they are taxed.

 

So I agree that Child Benefit and Child Tax Credits are the most likely sources of support here.

[blondebubbles]

Means tested benefits are based on net income - your calculation used gross.

 

Partners are taxed separately, whether married or not. This isn't relevant, though, and I'm not sure why you think it is.

 

SMP = "Statutory Maternity Pay". It is counted as income when HB entitlement is worked out.

 

Just to clarify, tax credits is not based on net income. It is based on the taxable gross income.