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Carer’s allowance claim & Legacy benefits

wenglish1984

Hello everyone I hope your all well I’m new to the group which is amazing and wish I’d found It sooner.

My partner on Friday was awarded the higher rate PIP on both Daily and mobility

Our issue is my partner was the main full time worker and is currently on long term sick leave with employment. I’m a stay at home father and on top have been looking after my partner full time for the last 4-5 months

We are still on the old Legacy benefits due to having 4 children etc but today I’ve applied for carers allowance after doing the Turn2us checker and being advised to claim.

I am now very worried I’ve made a huge mistake by claiming carers allowance as I’m now unsure if it will trigger the universal credit change in circumstances part ?

Nothing at all was mentioned on the turn2us site when I did the entitled 2 form but looking online it’s all very confusing

Would anyone be able to help and advise me please just so I know exactly where we stand etc

thank you

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poppy123456

HI and welcome,

I'm one of the community champions here on scope and i'm here to help and advise others.

I can confirm that claiming carers allowance will not prompt a move to UC because it's not part of UC.

As you're claiming one of the legacy benefits your carers allowance will be deducted £1 for £1 from which ever benefit you're claiming and then they will add the carers premium of £36.85 per week. Carers allowance will then pay you separately. This means that you will be £36.85 better off each week.

As you're claiming another benefit then you won't receive the full amount of carers allowance back dated. What you will receive though is £36.85 per week backdated to the start of the PIP award, if the circumstances were the same at the time.

If you're claiming council tax reduction then you will need to let your local council know that you are claiming carers allowance.

Hope this helps.

wenglish1984

Hello thank you very much for your advice and confirmation regarding legacy benefits thats a huge relief

Also Thank you for explaining how it all works im very grateful

Can i also ask a quick question regarding statutory sick pay as its another issue we are both now worrying about because what happens when the 28 week SSP pay ends from work ? I believe we will also lose the Working Tax Credit element on top ? which is going to be quite a large amount of money to loose

The SSP ends in May so would you be able to advise on what else we could look to claim to help with the loss of SSP and working tax credits ?

Thank you

David

poppy123456

No problem,

When you said you are still claiming the old legacy benefits then i didn't realise you meant tax credits. May i ask if you're claiming any other benefits? I'm assuming you don't work yourself or are you working some hours but earning less than £123 per week after deductions? Do you claim housing benefit? or own your own home?

Sorry about all the questions but when you said legacy benefits i thought you meant ESA/JSA or Income Support. As you're not claiming any of those then my above advice is not correct.

You will receive the whole amount of carers allowance as payment on it's own. There won't be any deductions from any benefits BUT do be aware that Carers allowance is taxable income and you will need to let HMRC know that you're claiming this once it starts.

If you can answer my other questions i'll be able to give you the correct advice but without all the correct information i can't advise you further.

wenglish1984

Thanks again I’m very grateful I’m actually a stay at home father my partner is/was the only income earner. So I don’t have any income myself

I’m also now obviously caring for my partner and have been doing everything for her while she’s been unwell and unable to do normal stuff

We don’t own our home it’s a housing association property that we rent but we are claiming tax credits and working tax credits also housing benefit and council tax benefits along with child benefit.

I hope I’ve answered all the questions for you but if you need anything further please let me know as I’m very grateful for all your help and advice

poppy123456

Thanks for answering those questions that does help a lot.

New style ESA is possible because it's based on your partners NI contributions in the previous 2 tax years, as you've been working then you'll most likely qualify for that. However, as you're claiming SSP at the moment then you won't be entitled to this until the SSP stops. You can start a claim 3 months before the SSP ends but you won't receive payment until the SSP stops. You will need a fit note from your GP and your SSP1 form from your employer to be able to claim this. Sadly it only pays £73.10 per week assessment rate and it's paid for 1 year only unless you're placed into the Support Group. As it's a contributions based benefit then she will need to claim it by herself.

She will eventually be sent work capability assessment forms that will need to be filled in and returned with all her evidence to support her claim. She's most likely have to attend a work capability assessment (like PIP but different criteria) then a decision will be made on her claim.

For other benefits the only other one available to you will be Universal Credit. This can be paid alongside SSP BUT if you claim this now your tax credits will end and your housing benefit will continue to be paid for 2 weeks and then transfer to UC and paid as part of that for the housing element.

As you have dependent children then you'll also receive the child element, along with the couples standard rate which is £489.89 on top of that you will also receive the carers element £160.20, then your housing element and any child elements you're entitled to. See all the different rates here https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/Universal-Credit-Rates

Child benefit will continue to be paid separately and so will council tax reduction because they are not part of UC.

The carers allowance and your partner New style ESA amount will both be deducted £1 for £1 for any UC you're entitled to, It's also a means tested benefit so any savings/capital of more than £6,000 will reduced your UC amount by £4.35 for every £250 over that amount. Anything over £16.000 and you won't be entitled to any UC.

If you decide to claim UC while she's still receiving the SSP then the SSP will be deducted £1 for £1 from your UC amount. Once her SSP ends if her employment ends then any extra money she receives from that will affect any UC you're entitled to for that month.

UC is paid as 1 monthly payment and your first payment will be 5 weeks after your claim starts.

It's extremely complicated and i'm hoping you were able to understand all of that. I've explained as best as i possibly can on an internet forum but it maybe better to speak to an advice agency near you for a full benefits check.