Disabilities, housing and relationship management.

Chaase

Hi friends, I hope you're keeping well in this challenging time. Ccan someone shed some light on my question. I have been a bit worried as recently I was approved for a council flat due to my illness and was put in priority need and given the chance to bid. However my fiance wants us o get married but I'm worried this will affect my benefit and UC. Do you know and can give some guidance on whether I'll be affected in anyway, especially with my chance to bid and not become homeless without te support I desperately need? 

poppy123456

Are you currently claiming UC as a couple? If not then when you live together you will need to claim UC as a couple. Whether there’s any entitlement will depend on your joint circumstances.

Chaase

Hi Poppy, thank you for replying. He's not claiming UC. He works part time but claims PIP. I get UC and housing benefit 

poppy123456

Chaase said:

Hi Poppy, thank you for replying. He's not claiming UC. He works part time but claims PIP. I get UC and housing benefit 

The only time you can claim housing benefit as well as UC is if you’re either living in temporary or supported housing. If you’re not the your rent would be covered through UC which is known as housing element.
You will need to use a benefits calculator to check entitlement as a couple. (if you live together) does your UC include the LCWRA element for yourself? 
Can’t advise on the house bidding though sorry. You would need to speak to social housing regarding that. 

Chaase

Hi I'm currently in temporary accommodation due to situation. My UC includes LCWRA for me.
I am on the priority need list and asked to bid a few weeks ago. But struggling to know my rights and what I can't and can do. Any help advice about this is good. And I'll find out more about help from social housing. Thank you 

poppy123456

You will need to speak to the housing team about your partner, if you live together. There may not be any issues but I can’t advise that because all landlords are different.
What is your partners current living situation?

poppy123456

Just to add some more information about your UC. If you claim as a couple then you’ll be entitled to the couple standard allowance, LCWRA element and housing (if you move house) 
As you have limited capability for work, you also be entitled to the work allowance. This means a certain amount of earnings received each month will be disregarded. As you’re claiming for help with the rent then your work allowance will be £344/month. Any earnings above  this will reduce your UC by 55%. 

Do you currently claim either PIP daily living or DLA mid/high rate care for yourself?

Chaase

Hi scope team and community. Please can you give some advice. I'm in temporary accommodation but approved  a couple weeks ago that I can bid for a 1 bed flat. My partner want us obget married but he works part-time and we both gets PIP. Just worried how this will affect my benefit and support.  Any information would help. Thanks

poppy123456

I just answered your question with more detail in your other thread here https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/95454/disabilities-housing-and-relationship-management#latest
Could one of the mods join both threads together please to save confusion. @Alex_Scope @Tori_Scope @Sue_Scope

Chaase

Thank you this is helpful. So much to understand. He lives with his mom at home. I'm approved to bid for a 1 bed flat with council so it's mot privately landlord. Okay I'll find out about the couples standard allowance. Can I ask because he works pt. Can he still claim for this or he works pt if he wanted to. Judttryingbtonunferdrsndvte benefits to me or us if he vjoicedto claim this. Ta.

Okay getting my head around lcwra and what you said about being entitled to work allowance. Since I don't work but he does part time. It is he who would be able to apply for this or me or both of us.

Because he works, is it part of his income earned per month that will be disregarded exempt from

And about me claiming for help with the rent and my allowance being £344monthly and anything about this will refuce my UC by 55%. Do you mean his or mine income allowance will be reduced by that amount. Remembering I don't work at all but he gets just over £1000 a month

We both claim PIP. I didn't understand all of that. I get the enhanced rate and standard on letter it says. He gets only one of them.

Thanks

Chaase

Okay thank you. I would like any support help to understand this better yes thanks 

poppy123456

The work allowance is applied to the claim so it will apply to all earnings received. 

As you also claim PIP is he looks after you for at least 35 hours per week then he can claim carers element of UC for looking after you. 

If his earnings are £1,000/month then £344 of that will be ignored. £556 of earnings received will reduce your UC by £360.80 (£556 x 0.55 = £360.80) 
Your elements will be as follows.
standard couples (at least one of you is over 25) £525.72
LCWRA £354.28
carers element £168.81
Total amount before deductions £1,048.81 - £360.80 = £688/month UC. (rent not included in calculation)
Please also remember that UC entitled will either increase or decrease if earnings fluctuate.

calcotti

For the avoidance of doubt, as regards your benefits what matters is whether you live together as a couple, whether or not you are married is not relevant.

Chaase

When you say the work allowance is applied to the claim. Do you mean the money I already get for my UC and  what both of us get for our PIP put together his wages now?
or  do you mean, if when he moves in and once we tell them and then we will have to put in a new claim about the change and in this new application taking into account what money we both get together  that they will do the deduction. Because you said it is from this that the allowance will be given. Itls it 
based on what we both get now or after we join and tell them.


I'll find out about te 35 hours carers allowance for him as he does care work. I don't know how that would work it's all new information.

What you said about his earnings reducing the amount I get for UC by 360.80. It's alot alot they would take off. Just wondered how I would cope.

We are both over 25 yrs. 

So to make sure I understand it I  would get £525.72+LCWRA and the carers allowance as well this £168.81.
Do I get the carers allowance or him?

You know that total of £688. This is what I would get correct?

Also my rent at the temporary accommodation is paid now. Do you know if they will continue to pay this once I bid and get somewhere? Because you said rent is not included in the £688..sorry I'm just taking my time to understand all tevterns and everything properly.

I also want to know when you said he could be my carer and look after me for 35 hrs per week and claim carers element of the UC. Can you explain more about this and my current t UC claim I have. Would his claim be added to mine. If you can explain a bit if he's loosing out by caring for me. I think tLmy UC won't change 

calcotti

PIP is ignored completely when calculating UC.

The Work Allowance is an amount of disregard (£344/month) applied to any joint employed earnings so some of his earnings will be ignored.

If they look after you 35 hours/week then they can get the carer element. It doesn’t matter what kind of work they do. Caring can include keeping an eye on you etc.

The carer element is paid as part of the UC payment to whoever receives the payment. (Note this is called the carer element, not carer allowance. Carer Allowance is a different benefit which he will not be able to claim if earning more than £132/week, and even if he could claim it it would be deducted in full from your UC payment.)

Chaase

Hi Calcotti, okay thank you for replying and helping me to understand it a bit more.  Well look into te carer element g or him.

What you said about the work allowance is an amount of disregard applied to any "JOINT EMPLOYED EARNINGS* so some of his earnings will be ignored. Do you mean when we live together this will automatically be reduced based on His current pt work or either way if he cares for me as my carer. Would the reduction of the work allowance be the same either way or different? Thank you very much 

Chaase

Okay thank you for explaining the difference about the carer allowance. Okay it's a bit clearer and how if he gets over £132 wkly. 

poppy123456

The carers element just increases your maximum UC entitlement, it has nothing to do with the work allowance.
The calculation I did above only applies if you live together, if you don’t then your UC just continues as normal. 

The work allowance applies to his earned income from his employer. The work allowance for your joint claim would be £344/month. 

The £688 would be your joint UC entitlement (no rent included in that) after the deductions for his earnings. You will then have his earnings as well and both your PIP amounts.

Chaase

So you think once we are a couple living together we tell them or soon we get married. Because he still lives with his mom and will not move in full time straight away because he'll look for work but now you have suggested him as my carer we can look into that.

As I was worried as my health worsens and how I would cope with not getting much support from my support worker. I do not know if I would still get help from the e support worker along with him being my carer too. So much to think about. 

calcotti

Chaase said:

Hi Calcotti, okay thank you for replying and helping me to understand it a bit more.  Well look into te carer element g or him.

When you tell UC you are now living with a partner you will be given a linking code. He will then have to claim UC and use the code to join your two claims together. When he claims UC he simply needs to report that he cares for you.

Chaase said:

What you said about the work allowance is an amount of disregard applied to any "JOINT EMPLOYED EARNINGS* so some of his earnings will be ignored. Do you mean when we live together this will automatically be reduced based on His current pt work or either way if he cares for me as my carer. Would the reduction of the work allowance be the same either way or different? Thank you very much 

In general there is a deduction from the UC award of 55% of the earnings. The Working Allowance means some of the earnings are ignored. Say he earns £1000/month the normal deduction would be £550. Because of the Work Allowance the first £344 is ignored so the deduction is reduced to 55% of £646 which is therefore £355.30 instead.

The Work Allowance is because you have LCWRA, it has nothing to do with the carer.

Chaase

Hi Poppy.  his earnings would be less from his employer the moment we live together correct? He earns about £1000 and he can only keep £344 of it correct. Then I will get the carers element which will lessen the blow of him loosing out because he moves in, so ciujd help him back out with what he looses out on.
 It looks like he would be loosing out by moving in as a couple. He'll be lesser off. I'll see if it's better for him to be my carer for the 35 hrs and how difficult and what we need to do to apply and how to apply.