SDP? Registered Blind

elmo19780

Hi, I wonder if anyone can advise. I did an online benefit calculation the other day through a link through the Gov.uk website. After accurately inputting all our family details it said that my partner should be receiving Severe Disability Premium on his Income related ESA. 

•Please note that he is registered blind so the rules do differ slightly and this seems to be why he would be entitled to SDP, if I do the calculator and change it to him NOT being registered blind he wouldn’t be entitled to the SDP. 

• He receives high rate care and mobility PIP. 

• Nobody claims carers allowance or carers element of UC for him. 

•I don’t receive disability benefits and there are no other adults in our house.
•I claim carers allowance for our son and have never at any point claimed it for my partner.  

We phoned up ESA and the lady filled in a form but when my partner phoned today to ask for a copy of our benefit award he asked the man when this form would be looked at. The man said it had already been looked at and he wasn’t entitled to SDP because his partner (myself) claims carers allowance for him and you can’t have both). My partner said that nobody claimed carers allowance for him and the guy said but you get a carers premium so they assumed that your partner claimed carers allowance for you. My partner corrected him again and explained that we answered all the questions when the lady filled in the form and he phoned through to another department and then came back saying he would get a call back and it would be relooked. Does anyone know if he is entitled? 

Ross_Alumni

Hello @elmo19780

Wishing you a warm welcome to the community, sorry to hear of the inconvenience you have been through in regards to this. It isn't always straight forward to interpret the rules for SDP, but it's good that they are looking into it again and hopefully they come back with the correct answer. Did they give you a time frame for how long it will take before they get back to you?

This page on the EntitledTo website details the eligibility criteria for SDP, it might be worth having a read through to check whether it matches up with what you were told after filling in the benefits calculator.

This is a very supportive and welcoming site to be a part of so I’m hopeful that you’ll find it to be a positive outlet. Feel free to have a look around and get involved wherever you’d like 😊 I have included below a few of the pages I’d recommend having a look through to get used to things:

• The virtual coffee lounge which is one of our categories, in which we play games and talk about general subjects such as hobbies and interests
• The recent discussions page, which shows an overview of everything happening across the community
• The categories page, which shows a full list of discussion groups on the community

If you have any questions at all then don’t hesitate to ask.

poppy123456

You've misunderstood the criteria here. For your partner to be entitled to the SDP then you would also need to be in receipt of a qualifying disability benefit such as PIP daily living or DLA mid/high rate care or be registered blind yourself. If none of those apply to you then your partner will not be entitled to SDP.

https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/severe-disability-premium

elmo19780

poppy123456 said:

You've misunderstood the criteria here. For your partner to be entitled to the SDP then you would also need to be in receipt of a qualifying disability benefit such as PIP daily living or DLA mid/high rate care or be registered blind yourself. If none of those apply to you then your partner will not be entitled to SDP.

https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/severe-disability-premium

Thanks Poppy, when I read those rules I did interpret it as it being that it’s myself that would have to be registered blind but after putting the details of our current circumstances into the calculator it says that my partner should get SDP. Also the man on the phone stated that the reason that he wasn’t entitled is because I claim carers allowance and carers premium for my partner which I certainly don’t. If I change the calculator and say that my partner isn’t registered blind then it doesn’t give the amount for SDP and also if I change the calculator and say that I receive carers allowance for my partner then it doesn’t give the amount for SDP. I was advised by many people that this particular calculator is more accurate than others, I was actually looking to see if we would be better off on UC. 

elmo19780

Ross_Scope said:

Hello @elmo19780

Wishing you a warm welcome to the community, sorry to hear of the inconvenience you have been through in regards to this. It isn't always straight forward to interpret the rules for SDP, but it's good that they are looking into it again and hopefully they come back with the correct answer. Did they give you a time frame for how long it will take before they get back to you?

This page on the EntitledTo website details the eligibility criteria for SDP, it might be worth having a read through to check whether it matches up with what you were told after filling in the benefits calculator.

This is a very supportive and welcoming site to be a part of so I’m hopeful that you’ll find it to be a positive outlet. Feel free to have a look around and get involved wherever you’d like 😊 I have included below a few of the pages I’d recommend having a look through to get used to things:

• The virtual coffee lounge which is one of our categories, in which we play games and talk about general subjects such as hobbies and interests
• The recent discussions page, which shows an overview of everything happening across the community
• The categories page, which shows a full list of discussion groups on the community

If you have any questions at all then don’t hesitate to ask.

Thank you for the welcome. 

As I said in the reply to Poppy, if they had said that the reason was because i’m not registered blind then I would accept that but because they are saying that I receive carers allowance for my partner when I’m not then I want it relooked. Also I can’t understand why the calculator would be wrong as I put in the right details and checked it numerous times and like I said I changed it to different scenarios to see what it said. They said to my partner he would get a callback within 24 hours. 

poppy123456

A benefits calculator is only as good as the information you put into it. It can be very confusing when using those benefits calculators to forget when its yourself or your partner. You are correct that you would need to be registered blind to be entitled to the SDP.

I wouldn't advise you to ring ESA for any benefits advice because that's not their job to give such advice. They are often wrong when they do attempt to give advice as you've realised.

You will need to use a benefits calculator to check if you would be better off on UC.

elmo19780

poppy123456 said:

A benefits calculator is only as good as the information you put into it. It can be very confusing when using those benefits calculators to forget when its yourself or your partner. You are correct that you would need to be registered blind to be entitled to the SDP.

I wouldn't advise you to ring ESA for any benefits advice because that's not their job to give such advice. They are often wrong when they do attempt to give advice as you've realised.

You will need to use a benefits calculator to check if you would be better off on UC.

Sorry if I sound rude but I’m perfectly capable of filling in a form and answering correctly whether it be for myself or my partner. Also at no point did I say I phoned ESA for benefit advice! That’s certainly not something I would do.  I said my partner phoned today and asked when the form would be looked at while he was phoning about something else and the guy told him it had been looked at and he wasn’t entitled because they assumed I claimed carers allowance for him and not our son. I also said that the reason I came across SDP was because I was using an online calculator to see if we would be better off on UC. 

calcotti

I have never heard of what you are suggesting (as always I am happy to be corrected).
If you got PIP and he was was registered blind then you would be entitled to SDP even if he was not getting a disability benefit.
Where he is both getting the PIP and blind but you are fit and able yourself I can't find anything to suggest that SDP would be payable.

poppy123456

elmo19780 said:

Sorry if I sound rude but I’m perfectly capable of filling in a form and answering correctly whether it be for myself or my partner.

My advice about the benefits calculator was related to your comment here.

elmo19780 said:

  but after putting the details of our current circumstances into the calculator it says that my partner should get SDP.

Which suggested to me that you put the incorrect information into it.

With regards to my comment about ESA and advice, my appologies, i misread your comment.