Hi, my name is newlife! When my employment ends will I be entitled to benefits?

newlife

Hi, my name is  Newlife - I have worked all my life (aged 56 female). I’m Brittle asthmatic, and have Arthritis in various body parts! I am on sick leave from my career and am no longer capable of continuing my current role- I have asked for retirement due to I’ll health. I am married and my husband works- when my employment ends will I be entitled to benefits- my pension will not be a lot as I have only paid into the scheme for 3 years. I thought my employers would support me but I have been left to try and work out how I will survive financially - I have recently been awarded PIP at the lower rate. Any words of wisdom would be great fully received! Thank you.

janer1967

Hi and welcome to the community 

You maybe entitled to new style esa if you have paid the correct amount of ni contributions and will need a fit note 

Taking a pension could affect your entitlement to certain benefits that are means tested as would your husband income 

New style esa isn't means tested 

There are lots of benefits expert here who will give you more information 

newlife

Thank you for your response- I’m in limbo not knowing what my employer will decide for me! So hard to imagine a future atm - we can’t survive on my husbands wage alone and I was the main income. It’s nice to find this place to ask questions and not be judged - if I could get better I would return to work but since covid in November I have been very unwell and have just spent a week in hospital. Thanks again - hope you have a nice evening x

Ross_Alumni

Hello @newlife

Welcome to the community, I hope you're having a good weekend and it's lovely to see you join us. Sorry to hear that you've been ill with Covid in recent times, it sure can have a lasting impact.

This is a very supportive place to be a part of, so please feel free to have a look around and if you have any questions then don't hesitate to ask them.

I would recommend having a look through the various categories we have on the community, and in particular I'd suggest the virtual coffee lounge which is where we play games and talk about all sorts of other subjects  

I can understand why you feel a bit unsure about things at the moment, I imagine you've been doing a lot of worrying about what might happen and it's a shame that you haven't been able to receive more support.

I have moved your discussion over to our benefits and financial support category and edited the title. You might find it helpful to have a look through some of our benefit related categories, as well as our work and employment category, to find any related discussions to get involved with.

SueHeath

Hi @newlife i'm loving the tag name 
Welcome to our great group, a few of us pop in and out of the site during the day.
You will get plenty of advise for most things of people on the forum.
Plenty going on, when you ready have a good look around.

poppy123456

Are you still claiming SSP from your employer? If so then 3 months before this ends you can apply for New style ESA and you'll need a fit note from your GP and your SSP1 form. You can't be paid anything until the SSP ends.

Universal Credit may also be possible but because it's means tested you'll need to claim with your partner and your joint circumstances will be taken into consideration. You can use a benefits calculator to check entitlement. https://www.entitledto.co.uk/benefits-calculator/Intro/Home?cid=03ac2557-48bc-469d-94b6-fe7e0727de5a If you have savings/capital of more than £16,000 you'll be excluded from claiming.

If you claim both of these together the ESA will be deducted in full from any UC entitlement.

There's also Personal Independence Payment (PIP) which isn't means tested. Whether you're entitled will totally depend on exactly how your conditions affect you against the PIP descriptors. You can see them here. https://pipinfo.net/