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Please help. I'm single, live alone, and am looking to reduce my hours at work. What could I claim?

Pinkfeet26

Hello there,
I am a single, 37 year old female. I live alone and have a brain tumour and I have recently suffered a heart attack. I have always worked full time but I am looking to reduce my hours and I am trying to find out which benefits I may be able to claim. I’m currently getting the minimum allowance from PiP and SSP - waiting to see if I can receive any universal credit. Please if anyone know which things I maybe able to claim please can you help me ? Thank you so much in advance x

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poppy123456

Hi,

At moment the only other benefit you maybe entitled to is Council tax reduction which can be claimed from your local council.

For UC your SSP will be classed as earnings and reduce your UC by 63%. If you don't need to claim for help with any rent then you'll be entitled to the standard allowance (over 25's) which is £324.84 per month. SSP £96.35 per week/ £417.51 per month. This will reduce your UC by £263 so your total UC payable will be about £53 per month.

If you claim for help with your rent then you will need to add this onto the £53 but how much you're entitled to will depend on whether you're renting privately or from social housing.

If you haven't already then you will need to report your health condition onto your journal and then you'll have 7 days to send your fit note from your GP. Are you currently having chemo or radiotherapy for your tumor? or have you had any treatment in the past 6 months or expecting treatment in the next 6 months?

Once your SSP ends you will be able to claim New style ESA if you've paid enough NI contributions in the 2 previous tax years but if you claim both NsESA and UC together then the ESA is deducted in full from any UC entitlment.

calcotti

If you claim UC you should declare your health condition as part of the claim supported by a Fit Note from your GP.

If you have cancer make this clear, and if you are having, recovering from or expecting to have radiotherapy or chemotherapy make this clear too. If this applies you are automatically entitled to be treated as having Limited Capability for Work and Work Related Activity (LCWRA). You should be sent a health questionnaire on day 1, not after 29 days as normal. For cancer patients this is fairly easy to complete, there is a page about cancer treatment which will need completing by a member of your medical team.

You will still have to wait 4 months to receive the LCWRA element as extra money but should have a Work Allowance applied from the start of your claim which means some of your SSP will be ignored (all of it will be ignored if you are not claiming help with rent). This might not happen immediately due to processing delays but should be applied retrospectively.

Pinkfeet26

Thank you so much- really helpful x

Daniel_2021

@Pinkfeet26 Hi, if either your tumour was diagnosed or your heart attack happened after your PIP was awarded then you can ask them to review your case as your circumstances have changed. I'd imagine you've experienced a further impact to your daily living needs and that this may have also impacted your mobility in some way. I would contact the PIP team let them know and go from there.
The only other things I can think of are some councils have emergency grants that don't need to be repaid, i'm in Liverpool and it's called Liverpool People's Support Scheme however every council name it something equally abstract. They basically look at all your outgoings and incomings, if there's been an impact to your incomings then they give you money to support you paying for fuel etc.
Look at things that you are entitled to linked to your PIP too i.e free travel, fixed water costs if there is a health need.
I would contact scope over the phone or citizens advice, let them know your circumstances and ask for a full benefit check, sometimes being entitled to one things then entitles you to something else.
I hope things improve with your health, remember you always have this forum to turn to if you're having a bad day or need further help.
Thanks,
Daniel

calcotti

Daniel_2021 said:

@Pinkfeet26 Hi, if either your tumour was diagnosed or your heart attack happened after your PIP was awarded then you can ask them to review your case as your circumstances have changed. I'd imagine you've experienced a further impact to your daily living needs and that this may have also impacted your mobility in some way. I would contact the PIP team let them know and go from there.

Not to be rushed. Many people on PIP make the mistake of reporting a change if they are diagnosed with cancer when in fact it makes no difference to their PIP entitlement. It will depend entirely on what change it has made on the ability to do the prescribed activities to the required standard.

Pinkfeet26

Daniel thank you so much for taking the time to write that reply, really helpful - thanks so much to anyone that’s commented x

Daniel_2021

@calcotti Hi, I completely agree if nothing has changed in regards to your daily living needs or mobility then there's no need to contact PIP as you say. I'd imagine though if the health issues were diagnosed/happened after PIP was awarded then there would be a change to one or both or the above.
I completely agree that being diagnosed with a condition doesn't mean there's a change to your entitlement, it's if that condition then goes on to have an impact on either the daily living aspect or mobility where an entitlement begins.
Thanks,
Daniel

poppy123456

Daniel_2021 said:

I'd imagine though if the health issues were diagnosed/happened after PIP was awarded then there would be a change to one or both or the above.

How can you imagine something you know nothing about? No one here knows exactly how the OP conditions affect them, therefore we can't advise. A person should never just go ahead and report changes like this because it has been know for people to lose everything they already have. The OP should get expert advice before doing anything else.

Daniel_2021

@poppy123456 Hi Poppy, clearly my comments have upset a few of you.
I simply said that if someone had sadly been diagnosed with cancer and had a heart attack AFTER their PIP was awarded it was LIKELY that their daily life would have changed for the worse, I think that's a fair comment.
I ended the message by advising just what you've said, phone scope or another charity like citizens advice for a full benefit check and expert advice.
The forum is in place for people seeking advice and support, if we simply signpost people it isn't forming a community or offering support. When both of my comments are read in their entirety I believe I did both of those things.
I hope that clears things up for everyone.
Thanks,
Daniel

poppy123456

The community is here to support and advise others to a certain extent. There are some situations regarding claiming benefits where it's simply not possible to give the advice a person is asking for because it's not physicaly possible to take all the time needed for the OP to explain in full detail about their situation. It's times like this where they are then advised to get further expert advice. We are not experts here, we are members that advise others based on our extended knowledge and own personal experiences.

There are times where people have to agree to disagree and this is that occasion.

Daniel_2021

@poppy123456 I completely agree that there are times it's not possible to give advice or cover off every single avenue that person may have available, an example is how much UC am I entitled to. It's to broad a question and this probably isn't the correct forum to share such details so a broad answer can be offered.
I agree again lets agree to disagree and put the above down to healthy debate.
The main take away is that @Pinkfeet26 gets the support she needs, if that's via this forum or else where it doesn't matter.
?

chiarieds

I have to completely disagree @Daniel_2021 - in what way does signposting people not form a community, or offer support? Hmmm signposting is also something you've mentioned....As has been said above, one should seek expert advise if even considering a 'change of circumstances' with PIP. Such a consideration shouldn't be looked at unless such a change would likely result in sufficient points to increase an award, but, in itself, it can result in a lower award if looked at again. We have to be careful in thinking about potential financial implications in a person's award, which is not taken lightly, nor just an interesting debate.

Daniel_2021

@chiarieds Hi, with the greatest respect you have taken my comments in isolation and completely out of context. As you say signposting does work and is a great way of ensuring people get the correct, expert advice they need, that is why as you say I signposted to both the scope helpline and Citizens Advice. What I said, and you fail to cover, is that simply signposting alone doesn't work in forming a community in my opinion.
I did not, and take expection to, describing the sad set of circumstances as simply something to debate. Again, this has been taken in isolation, I and another person disagreed on a matter and I put that down to healthy debate and not the persons circumstances.
This is the first time that I have replied to someone's message, I felt and still feel my comments were fair and valid. I have, however, been shocked at how people have taken only parts of what I've said and criticised them only to offer the same advice that my original message ends in.
I will not be contributing to this thread any further however, I would like to end with, and reiterate (the only person to offer this I think) the person who started this post, good luck and ironically advise that you can turn to this group for emotional support as well as practical.
Thanks,
Daniel

Pinkfeet26

Hey Daniel,
I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to respond to my post and appreciate the time you’ve taken.
I think you’ve been most helpful.

Take care,
jade x

Daniel_2021

@Pinkfeet26 Hi Jade, no worries at all. I've recently become wheelchair bound and i'm housebound currently following an op that was meant to make everything better. I don't know if/when I'll return to a job I love so have similar financial worries/questions as you. It's the last thing you need when your health starts to play up.
I turned to scope because I was basically having massive anger issues and resenting my body for the changes I couldn't control, i'm not sure if you've felt like that? I'm 36 and sometimes I think someone up there is just taking the p*ss, but on my better days I know I can still do some things and make plans to try and learn others.
That's where i'm up to and why I joined, i'm new into my journey, I only left rehab around 6-7 weeks ago. I needed somewhere as an outlet and to ask questions, i'm hoping it's here. As i've said lean on everyone for emotional and practical support if you need it, although there's been some disagreement I believe this has been down to everyone wanting to help you in the best way they can.
Thanks for replying Jade, you take care and keep getting support if you need it.
Thanks,
Daniel

Pinkfeet26

Wow Daniel it sounds like you’ve really been through it. It’s such a minefield trying to find out what we can get and how we can help ourselves and when your battling everything else it can just seem impossible- I think I’m slowing getting there and I hope you are too. Feel free to add me on Facebook my names (Removed by moderator, personal details such as full names are not allowed on the community)

poppy123456

@Pinkfeet26 I just want to make you aware that giving personal information such as full names etc is not allowed on the community for your safety because it's a public forum. You can edit your own comment providing it's within 59 minutes of posting that comment, so i'd advise you to remove your full name.

chiarieds

Hi @Daniel_2021 - I have to totally agree with your comment that personally I wasn't supportive of Pinkfeet26 for which I truly apologise. This is the first time this has happened as far as I'm aware. But, lest you confuse how other members are, they give so much benefit advice that, altho their comments may appear terse, they're actually trying to help so many people in their free time, that considered advice may be the most that can be given, which is so important. We all do what we can in our different ways. I have welcomed you, then given advice about wheelchairs with nary a 'thank you.' Spent nearly 2 hours looking into resources for you; I knew what I wanted to say, but pictures/videos convey this easier. Of course you're not to know the time I spent away from the community trying to help you; a frequent occurrence, but know I tried.

Daniel_2021

@chiarieds Hi, firstly please don't apologise and don't be upset about my lack of reply.
The messages we exchanged above we all in the hope of helping @Pinkfeet26, although some disagreed with what I was saying and I disagreed that my comments were taken in isolation it was still heartwarming that a group of people who have never met put so much time and passion into supporting another person, that should be the take away.
In terms of my lack of reply this is remiss of me. Basically I still find it difficult to ask questions and then see the reality, I did watch the first video for a few seconds of a man coming down some steps in his chair, it just highlights the significant change i'm going through and not accepting it, in my head I keep hoping i'll wake up okay. My lack of response wasn't meant to be in turn a lack of gratitude, I just simply don't know how to proceed when I see the reality.
What i've tried to do recently is ask for less advice as I find it hard and start offering more support as selfishly I get a lot from this, that's probably why you've seen me replying to others.
I do greatly appreciate the time you've spent in responding to me and i've seen the detail you go into to help othets which is equally time consuming. All I ask is that you don't see it as time wasted, I know i'm on a slow journey and hopefully you along with others on the forum will notice some progress along the way.
All the best,
Daniel