carer's allowance versus income support

[eddie the wire]

I am trying to decide whether to claim carer's allowance or income support. I intend to become a carer for my mother who gets attendance allowance. I am 50 and claiming income based JSA. I live with my mother in a council house.

[AndyOrch]

You can claim both together (CA + IS ) and forget JSA.

 

Regards

 

Andy

[martin2006]

Your income support will be reduced by the carers allowance and to qualify for CA you have to provide at least 35hrs a week care, whether thats daycare or night care or both

[AndyOrch]

But you will be free of JSA and all the nonsense accompanied with it:wink:

[martin2006]

True Andy, i get left alone to care, not hounded to complete nonsense job applications i am not qualified for

[antone]

Your income support will be reduced by the carers allowance and to qualify for CA you have to provide at least 35hrs a week care, whether thats daycare or night care or both

 

IS is reduced by the amount of CA payable, but then a Carer Premium is added. IS as a carer is probably the "lowest hassle" way to claim an income replacement benefit. I put that in quotes because I don't want anyone to think that I'm saying it's easy to provide 35 hours per week of care for someone: I realise it is anything but. However, in terms of the number of DWP hoops that need to be jumped through, it's fairly straightforward.

[eddie the wire]

IS is reduced by the amount of CA payable, but then a Carer Premium is added. IS as a carer is probably the "lowest hassle" way to claim an income replacement benefit. I put that in quotes because I don't want anyone to think that I'm saying it's easy to provide 35 hours per week of care for someone: I realise it is anything but. However, in terms of the number of DWP hoops that need to be jumped through, it's fairly straightforward.

 

 

I'm wary of claiming carer's allowance as some information online says it can affect my mother's council tax reduction, but I don't know by how much. My mother and I are joint tenants (scotland), so we each pay half of the rent/council tax.

 

I certainly provide well over 35 hours of care a week. It wouldn't bother me to have work focused interviews as I've had hundreds of these in the past. I'm still not sure why I should claim both CA and IS if it works out the same as just claiming IS and carer's premium, unless CA has some hidden advantages.

[reallymadwoman]

I don't think you can just claim IS now, you have to be getting CA to qualify.

[eddie the wire]

Thanks. I will apply for CA first then.

[eddie the wire]

Well, got the carer's allowance. It will start on 20/06/2016 paid a month in arears, so the first payment will be 11/07/2016. I am still on JSA at the moment and got a letter today saying my JSA will be £45.60 from 15/06/2016. I want to stop claiming JSA but not sure when to do it. I started a claim for IS today to start at the same time as the CA, but was told I need to wait until 19/06/2016 to claim IS. I was also told I may need to start a fresh claim for housing benefit.

[AndyOrch]

and probably council tax

[eddie the wire]

and probably council tax

 

I'm still not sure when to claim IS. Do I claim it now or wait until the carer's allowance payments start? And when should I stop my JSA claim? It seems that from 15/06/2016, they will be paying me JSA + CA + Carers premium. I don't want to be on JSA when I'm working as a carer for at least 35 p/w.

[antone]

Your potential entitlement to IS as a carer starts on the day you become entitled to CA (not the date when CA is actually paid), which looks like it will be the 20th June. You can't claim JSA and IS at the same time, so what you probably want to do is make the last day of your JSA claim the 19th June. Until then you would need to comply with JSA conditions with regard to looking for work, attending to sign etc.

 

Switching from one benefit to another can be a pain in the short term, but in your case is worth doing to take the JSA pressure off you and leave you free to care for your mother (and, of course, yourself when you can). So what I would suggest is that a few days before the 19th, tell the Jobcentre that you wish to end your JSA claim on that date and start an IS claim from the 20th. Once you've submitted your IS claim, get on to the council HB/CTR department and advise them of the change in circumstances - don't wait for the Jobcentre to tell them.

[eddie the wire]

Your potential entitlement to IS as a carer starts on the day you become entitled to CA (not the date when CA is actually paid), which looks like it will be the 20th June. You can't claim JSA and IS at the same time, so what you probably want to do is make the last day of your JSA claim the 19th June. Until then you would need to comply with JSA conditions with regard to looking for work, attending to sign etc.

 

Switching from one benefit to another can be a pain in the short term, but in your case is worth doing to take the JSA pressure off you and leave you free to care for your mother (and, of course, yourself when you can). So what I would suggest is that a few days before the 19th, tell the Jobcentre that you wish to end your JSA claim on that date and start an IS claim from the 20th. Once you've submitted your IS claim, get on to the council HB/CTR department and advise them of the change in circumstances - don't wait for the Jobcentre to tell them.

 

Thanks. On the carer's allowance form, it asked for a start date for the claim. I chose the 2nd of may, which was stupid as I should have used the date of my mother's attendance allowance award, which was in mid-april.

[AndyOrch]

Thanks. On the carer's allowance form, it asked for a start date for the claim. I chose the 2nd of may, which was stupid as I should have used the date of my mother's attendance allowance award, which was in mid-april.

 

Contact them and ask they amend the start date...3 weeks is 3 weeks extra

[eddie the wire]

Contact them and ask they amend the start date...3 weeks is 3 weeks extra

 

I'll just leave things as they are. My local jobcentre has been having major computer problems for several weeks, so no signing on and no interviews. Most staff are not there. The payments are still going through somehow. I visited my local council about my changing circumstances, and he did an advanced notice for me. He also seemed to think that my housing benefit / CT would just need a change of circumstance and no need to reapply.

[antone]

. He also seemed to think that my housing benefit / CT would just need a change of circumstance and no need to reapply.

 

This is very possible - you're just switching from one means tested benefit to another, so there should be no change in your actual entitlement.

[eddie the wire]

You certainly learn by your mistakes. I just closed my JSA claim and carer's credit was backdated to the start date on my carer's allowance claim form. I didn't expect that. I should have claimed carer's allowance + IS from the date that my mother was awarded attendance allowance.

Edited June 18, 2016 by eddie the wire

[Love or hate me]

I am going to become a carer next month and the job centre adviser I got told me when my paid date for Carer's Allowance to call the number I got given on the same date to sign off JSA and go on to Income Support if not call another number to sign of if they don't do it.

[Love or hate me]

That is what I was told this week.

 

What would people on here say should I wait to date I get paid Carer's Allowance then sign off then claim Income Support on that date or sign off and claim Income Support before?

[reallymadwoman]

Unless you qualify on other grounds, you cannot be paid income support until you are in receipt of carer's allowance, so you cannot claim until you know from when your carer's allowance will be paid.

[Love or hate me]

Thanks I have the date I start getting paid.