Advice needed re care costs and benefits

ocdman

hi everyone i’m going through the care assessment process so i’m 60 and i’ve been assessed as needing 1hr 15 minutes care per day and the financial assessment has said that the maximum i’ll pay is £54 per week. so i’m in the support group for esa ( contribution based ) and in pip at enhanced daily living and standard mobility and the calculation said disregard the mobility part but per week between the esa and the daily living part of pip i received income of £210 and have protected income of £156 so maximum i’ll pay being £54 per week. The thing is out of my £210 income i pay £97 per week rent to my housing association so this means i’ll be left with £59 per week income and whilst i don’t have a choice i need the care or im finished dead out of the game being left with £59 per week seems a bit low to pay everything food bills etc . I’m on £13000 savings and i live alone and whilst i appreciate i’m not totally broke does anyone know if the figure of being left with £59 per week sounds right . my social worker thought that perhaps my rent had been left out of the calculation but wasn’t sure and i’ve just emailed the council to ask but the more information i can get i would appreciate. 

poppy123456

All local Authorities will have their own rules for financial assessments. Your savings of £13,000 may have played a part in that assessment too.

You said you're also paying £97/week from your PIP/ESA for your rent, do you not claim for help with your rent through housing benefit?

Is your ESA the old contributions based or New style ESA? If it's the old contributions based, have you been assessed for the Income Related top up? Your savings will reduce it by £1 for every £250 or part there of over £6000.

ocdman

thank you poppy it’s old style contribution based esa and all the advice i’ve had so far is online only and it says i can’t claim housing benefit unless i was claiming universal credit and up until a few months ago it was around 16,000 savings so i was told wouldn’t get housing benefit anyway and i’ve just been to frightened to claim universal credit in case it was a mistake doing so so i thought just let it go keep on with the old style benefit as it’s guaranteed income and as it’s only a £1 as you say per £250 so i thought just let it go for as long as possible until im forced into universal credit but about 6 weeks ago i had to contact the county council as my health got drastically worse and needed care and here i am in this position. i don’t know what to do if i’d get housing benefit if i wouldn’t should i claim universal credit shouldn’t i i just don’t know what to do but i’ve found out that if your under £14250 savings then it’s no amount off the savings to pay for the care but im left wondering about the amount im left with being £59 per week seeming to me a bit low would you know anywhere that gives advice on the phone about benefits and care and amounts and whether to claim universal credit because i’ve heard once you claim that you can’t undo it and it might be a bad move to do that im completely at a loss as to what to do and would be so grateful for advice. 

poppy123456

You are correct that new claims for housing benefit are no longer possible unless you're living in either supported or temporary housing. You would need to claim UC for any help with your rent.

However, first thing you should do is ring ESA and tell them that your savings are now less then £16,000 and you would like to be assessed for the income Related top up. They will then send you the ESA3 form to fill out and return. There will be a deducting for your savings as advised.

As you live alone and you're claiming daily living PIP, if no one claims carers allowance or carers element for looking after you then you'll be entitled to the SDP as well as the EDP. You should also tell them what date your savings went below £16,000 and you should be backdated to that date.

Once the Income Related top up is in payment you can then claim UC for help with your rent. Your contributions based ESA will continue as normal but be deducted in full from any UC entitlement. As your ESA will include the SDP then you'll be entitled to the SDP transitional protection as well as the LCWRA element from the start of your claim. It will also include help with your rent.

ocdman

thanks poppy if i’m reading this correctly because i get the enhanced daily living then i’m automatically entitled to the sdp and edp because i live alone and no one claims carers for me ? is that correct? to tell you the truth a while back you said this to me when i was asking something about benefits i thought surely not and i’ve become so frightened about anything to do with claiming benefits that it couldn’t be as simple as just because my savings fell below 16000 and being awarded the enhanced daily living then this would automatically entitle me to this sdp and edp but if that’s the case then i’ll do it it’s a no brainer . i’m praying now that you tell me yes ! thanks poppy 

poppy123456

EDP (Enhanced Disability Premium)£17.75/week is automatically paid when claiming Income Related ESA in the Support Group.
SDP £69.40/week isn’t automatically paid but because you live alone, no one claims carers allowance or carers element of UC for looking after you then you will be entitled to SDP because you’re claiming daily living PIP.
There will be a deduction of about £28/week if you have £13,000 savings. 

Claiming Income Related ESA will also mean you’ll be entitled to free nhs dental/prescriptions and eye tests. 

You will very likely be asked to send some bank statements too. 

Once that’s all done and in payment you can then claim UC. No brainer for sure!