Moving in with a partner

olivia_m
olivia_m Online Community Member Posts: 3 Listener
in Money and bills

Hey! I currently receive pip standard daily living and lcwra. Me and my partner have been together for nearly 14 years and we both still live with parents because I've never been able to work and earn enough for us to move out together and live comfortably (this was before I knew anything about benefits and what I'm entitled to). I'm leaving my part time job next month as my mental and physical conditions have gotten a lot worse over the years and I find life really difficult to manage so I feel that it's best for me to step away from employment and maybe do some volunteering instead. Which means I wont have any income other then my benefits. Me and my partner really want to move out together but I'm worried about the whole "joint claim" for lcwra when I move out. My partner doesn't have any disabilities and doesn't claim any benefits, he works full time and earns anywhere between 1500-2000, depending on how many hours he gets each month. His dad also passed away so got some money from him after he passed which he's kept in his savings. Im really worried that when we move out and have to make a joint claim that he'll be earning too much and I wont get lcwra anymore which then means we probably cant afford to move out as I genuinely can't work because of my conditions. Am I just doomed to be living at my parents for the rest of my life? Im genuinely worried for my future and I think the whole "joint claim" thing is really unfair as I've never considered my partners earnings as my money and vice versa!

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  • Kimi87
    Kimi87 Online Community Member Posts: 7,300 Championing
    edited October 8

    You can try a benefits calculator to estimate joint entitlement using various scenarios:

    https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators

    With means tested benefits there is an expectation that couples living together support each other financially instead of having the state provide money on top.

    Your PIP would remain unaffected.

    Only you can decide if accepting a lower financial standard of living is worth moving out of parents and in with your partner.

    Sometimes our ideal option isn't available and we have to choose between two brown stuff options instead 😕

  • Mary_Scope
    Mary_Scope Posts: 2,786 Scope Online Community Children and Family Specialists

    Hi @olivia_m and a warm welcome to the community from me!

    I see Kimi has already answered your question and provded some good advice so I won't add anything new this time but it is definetly worth using the benefits calculater as these things can get very complex!

    It's lovely to have you here and I hope you enjoy your time on the community😄

  • olivia_m
    olivia_m Online Community Member Posts: 3 Listener

    Thank you for the advice and for the warm welcome 😊

  • 66Mustang
    66Mustang Online Community Member Posts: 15,275 Championing
    edited October 8

    I think the unspoken reason for benefits of adult children living at home being unaffected by their parents' financial status is that: if it were affected, they'd be financially motivated - in some cases even financially compelled - to move out; the government would then have to pay them housing benefit on top

    I imagine allowing adult children to claim is a thorn in the side of the DWP, but that they've calculated that pulling the thorn out would cost them a lot more - i.e. potentially tens of thousands of people claiming housing benefit on top of their existing benefits (and the same amount of homes being demanded, exacerbating the housing shortage)

    Moving into your partner's house doesn't have the same "this or that" situation for the DWP - your partner has a home already, you're not creating demand for another one - this means they can afford to call your bluff…by which I mean, it's about money, it's not that they want what's best for people 🙁

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