Too Many Benefits?

[suzanne108]

This thread TOTALLY confuses me every time I check it

hehe xx

 

[Aimees/Mummy]

I used to work within the job centre and the information you have been given by the job centre previously is pretty incorrect.

You cant get maternity allowance and income support. Income support is a top up benefit and if you get more than £60.50 in maternity pay then you are not entitled to income support. They don't take ever take into account personal circumstances so they don't care how much you think that you need to live on. It's £60.50 and that's it. You can't get full housing benefit and council tax on maternity allowance either. It is based on how much you get and with £120 a week Mat allowance..it is only likely that you will get 75% paid. And you will more than likely need to pay the majority of your council tax. It is tough living off income support but tax credits should help and you should get the maximum amount of £59.00 a week plus child benefit at £20 per week.

Sorry if I seem a bit rude...just get annoyed when people who are supposed to know the system give people false information on the money they will get then they are in real financial difficulty when they realise what they are actually getting. When you move into your own house you will get income support, tax credits and child benefit plus healthy start vouchers. So your total income will be around £140 per week but you won't have any rent or council tax to pay.

Hope this helps xxx

I[/COLOR]

 

[purpledahlia]

yup thats what i understood my situation to be when i move out..... And i actually thot id only get 130 so few pounds extra always help.
Once you go back to work the HB and CTB all go down aswell dont they.. whats the thresholds for these? if i worked 2 or 3 days a week how much of the rent and council tax would i be looking at paying? x

 

[bloodbinds]

I used to work within the job centre and the information you have been given by the job centre previously is pretty incorrect.

You cant get maternity allowance and income support. Income support is a top up benefit and if you get more than £60.50 in maternity pay then you are not entitled to income support. They don't take ever take into account personal circumstances so they don't care how much you think that you need to live on. It's £60.50 and that's it. You can't get full housing benefit and council tax on maternity allowance either. It is based on how much you get and with £120 a week Mat allowance..it is only likely that you will get 75% paid. And you will more than likely need to pay the majority of your council tax. It is tough living off income support but tax credits should help and you should get the maximum amount of £59.00 a week plus child benefit at £20 per week.

Sorry if I seem a bit rude...just get annoyed when people who are supposed to know the system give people false information on the money they will get then they are in real financial difficulty when they realise what they are actually getting. When you move into your own house you will get income support, tax credits and child benefit plus healthy start vouchers. So your total income will be around £140 per week but you won't have any rent or council tax to pay.

Hope this helps xxx

I[/COLOR]

Ohh, that's pretty interesting. At the moment though i'm just going off what my job centre and council are telling me. Also what my Aunt is telling me, she's work at the job centre, though not at my one unfortunatly, otherwise i would get her to do everything, lol.

But i have now got them to send me everything that have told me in writing, so if they do say later on 'oh no, actually, you're not entitled' i will send them a copy of the letter they've sent me saying 'well, actually, you have stated here i am. so there.' lol.

But thanks for your input!

 

[FierceAngel]

I used to work within the job centre and the information you have been given by the job centre previously is pretty incorrect.

You cant get maternity allowance and income support. Income support is a top up benefit and if you get more than £60.50 in maternity pay then you are not entitled to income support. They don't take ever take into account personal circumstances so they don't care how much you think that you need to live on. It's £60.50 and that's it. You can't get full housing benefit and council tax on maternity allowance either. It is based on how much you get and with £120 a week Mat allowance..it is only likely that you will get 75% paid. And you will more than likely need to pay the majority of your council tax. It is tough living off income support but tax credits should help and you should get the maximum amount of £59.00 a week plus child benefit at £20 per week.

Sorry if I seem a bit rude...just get annoyed when people who are supposed to know the system give people false information on the money they will get then they are in real financial difficulty when they realise what they are actually getting. When you move into your own house you will get income support, tax credits and child benefit plus healthy start vouchers. So your total income will be around £140 per week but you won't have any rent or council tax to pay.

Hope this helps xxx

I[/COLOR]

Ohh, that's pretty interesting. At the moment though i'm just going off what my job centre and council are telling me. Also what my Aunt is telling me, she's work at the job centre, though not at my one unfortunatly, otherwise i would get her to do everything, lol.

But i have now got them to send me everything that have told me in writing, so if they do say later on 'oh no, actually, you're not entitled' i will send them a copy of the letter they've sent me saying 'well, actually, you have stated here i am. so there.' lol.

But thanks for your input!

i was reading this through and about to tell you exactly what aimees mummy said

wen you recieve any written infor from job cewntre or job centre they will always say the final amount depends on circumstances etc.. a bit like a subtract to contract sort of thing... th3e only thing that is guarenteed is your descion notice.. and even then they can screw tht up (esp tax credits)

every council is different but i doubt they differ so much.. i work with homeless applications for tenants in 3 different boroughs.. and all of them will take into account the following

income from job
mat allowance
incap benefit
maintenance
child benefit
ctc
wtc
income from another source (another tenant, partner etc)

the rules differ for income support


please dont think im being rude its just ive seen it too many times were council/job centre miss inform and then tenants are let down and panic...

from my own experience.. i was on incap benefit from 20 weeks of pregnancy until my mat allowance kicked in at 29 weeks.. im due to go back on it wen my mat allowance finishes until im well enough to return to work..

a lady called me from the job centre last week and told me there is no reason why i cant get both (mat allowance and IB) so i completed my forms etc..

guess what i just had a descion notice stating i cant get it while im on mat allowance

there are plenty of single mummies on here hun whom have come off mat allowance onto income support and im sure will confirm they didnt recieve both...

i would reccomend maybe starting a thread asking this as many might not have seen this

like i said pls dont think im being rude i just know first hand the problems it can cause wen the money doesnt come through


xxxxx

 

[Aimees/Mummy]

The threshold is around £12,000 but the baby element takes it to £15,000. If you work 16hours plus per week you get working tax credits which can be quite a lot depending on how much you earn.

If you work 2/3 days a week (depending on your hourly rate) you could be looking at paying full rent and council tax. I earn £11.98 an hour and work full time but I get £290 per week in CTC and WTC of which £230 goes to nursery fees. But even after rent I am still better off working financially.

Your local job centre can do an income check for you and find out if you are better on benefits than working but it is rarely the case no matter how much you earn. WTC really helps out. Plus if you have been on income support for 25 weeks you get a lump sum payment of £250 when you sign off.

 

[Aimees/Mummy]

FierceAngel...thanks for posting. I thought I was being rude when I posted mine but yours wasn't rude at all. I completely understand what you mean about misinformation. xx

 

[FierceAngel]

The Income Support calculation
Step 1: Work out the amount the Government says you need to live on – the applicable amount.

The applicable amount is made up of the following:

•personal allowances (which depend on your age);
•personal allowances for children if you were getting Income Support, including an amount for children, before April 2004. New claimants after that date won’t have personal allowances for children as they will claim Child Tax Credit instead.
•premiums (these depend on your particular circumstances, see below); and
•housing costs (mainly towards the cost of home-ownership). If you rent your home, you apply to your local authority for Housing Benefit.
Step 2: Calculate your income, see How income affects the amount of Income Support.

Step 3: Take away your total income from the ‘applicable amount’ to get the Income Support you will receive

Income Support personal allowances
If you are a lone parent aged 18 or over, your personal allowance is £57.45. If you are 16 or 17, your personal allowance will usually be £34.60, but there is a higher rate (£45.50) in certain circumstances, for example, if you qualify for the disability premium (see Who are Income Support premiums paid to?) or you are living away from your parents because your relationship with them has broken down.

If you receive Child Tax Credit, you do not receive personal allowances for your children.

Who are Income Support premiums paid to?
Premiums are added to your allowances and intended to help with extra expenses, for example caused by disability, caring responsibilities or the cost of bringing up children. The following premiums can be paid on top of any other premiums.

•Family Premium is payable if you are responsible for a child (but not if you are claiming Child Tax Credit).
•Disabled Child Premium is payable where a child in the family gets Disability Living Allowance or is blind (but not if you are claiming Child Tax Credit).
•Severe Disability Premium is payable to people who receive Attendance Allowance or the middle or higher rate care component of Disability Living Allowance, do not live with another adult and who do not have a carer receiving Carers’ Allowance for looking after them.
•Enhanced Disability Premium is payable for an adult and/or child (but not for a child if you are claiming Child Tax Credit) in the family who receives the higher rate of the care component of Disability Living Allowance. It is paid in addition to any other disability premiums that are being paid.
•Carer’s Premium is payable if you are getting or are treated as getting Carers’ Allowance because you are caring for a person who receives Attendance Allowance or the middle or higher rate care component of Disability Living Allowance.
Only one of the following premiums can be paid. You get whichever is highest:

•Family Premium – lone parent increase: A higher rate of the Family Premium is payable to lone parents who were entitled to it before 9 April 1998 (or for some cases, within 12 weeks of that date) but not for new claims made after that date.
•Disability Premium is payable if you are under 60 and in receipt of a qualifying benefit, such as Disability Living Allowance or Incapacity Benefit paid at the long-term rate, or if you are blind. You are also entitled to this premium if you have made a claim for Incapacity Benefit (even if you are not entitled to it) and have satisfied Jobcentre Plus that you have been incapable of work due to sickness for 52 weeks (or 26 weeks if you have a terminal illness). You will be asked to submit medical certificates from your GP to cover the whole of this period.

How income affects the amount of Income Support
Most income is taken into account and reduces the amount of Income Support you can get. This includes earnings, and most benefits, the take home amount of Statutory Maternity Pay or Maternity Allowance and any maintenance you receive.

Note: If you are receiving Child Tax Credit and Income Support, any income you receive for your child (excluding child maintenance), for example, Child Benefit will not affect the amount of Income Support. Child Benefit and maintenance do not affect your Child Tax Credit.

Jobcentre Plus will calculate a weekly amount of the income you receive. The income will not necessarily be taken into account for the same period for which it was paid. This depends on when it is due to be paid to you and the type of income it is.

Part of the following types of income are ignored
•£20 of your take-home pay if you are working part-time (under 16 hours). There are different rules for childminders – see Income Support for childminders.
•The part of a student grant, loan or bursary that is to cover expenses for travelling and books or equipment.
•Part of payments received from lodgers and tenants. The amounts that are disregarded depend on what is provided in the charge.
•£10 of Widowed Mother’s or Widowed Parent’s Allowance and certain war widow’s and widower’s pensions.
•If you have a child under one, £10.50 of your Child Benefit is ignored.
•If you receive child maintenance assessed under the new child support scheme (see Which child support scheme do I come under?) up to £10 a week of that maintenance is ignored.
•If a child has capital of less than £3,000, their income usually counts as yours, subject to certain disregards. If the child has earnings while at school or college, their earnings are usually ignored, but if they start to work full-time (16 hours or more a week) after leaving school or college and they are still part of your benefit claim, their earnings count. £5 is ignored or £20 if they qualify for Disabled Child Premium.
Income that is completely ignored
•Child Tax Credit.
•Attendance Allowance or Disability Living Allowance, regardless of which member of the family they are payable to.
•Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.
•Some payments you receive that are paid to a third party, for example, towards mortgage payments that are not covered by Income Support or towards rent that is not covered by Housing Benefit.
How capital affects the amount of Income Support
You will not be entitled to Income Support if your savings or other capital assets are worth more than £16,000. Capital of over £6,000 will reduce your benefit by £1 a week for every £250 savings you have between £6,000 and £16,000.

Jobcentre Plus call this tariff income.

 

[FierceAngel]

hope the above helps

basically say you are entitled to THE LONE PARENT RATE OF £57 this is you applicable amount

you then need to take away the
amount of income you recieve from your applicaple amount (see red text)

calculate your income as stated in the highlighted pink section.. which includes mat allowance so min income is £123

take 123 away from £57.. is a negative figure hence you will recieve no IS


mat allowance is worked out on 90% of your average income for the testing period up to a max of £123
if your average income was only say £30 per week (the min for mat allowance) then you would recieve £27 per week mat allowance.. you could then be entitled to IS as a top up
basic entitlement of £57 minus £27 recieved from MA = £30 IS

hope that makes sense!

xx

 

[FierceAngel]

FierceAngel...thanks for posting. I thought I was being rude when I posted mine but yours wasn't rude at all. I completely understand what you mean about misinformation. xx

np hun xx you wasnt rude

the problem with the way benefits work is tht they get you to apply for everything saying you might be entitled and always give you the max!

 

[bloodbinds]

Ohh, thanks guys, this is a big help! And of course no one thinks your being rude, you are just helping, that is why we're all here isn't it?! Lol.

Well, with or without income support i'll be ok it looks like. Plus it means i get more maintenance off FOB if i'm not on income support! Lol. So that is also something.

I have been told that my decision of income support has been based on how much they think i can live off, not on me getting maternity allowance, and because i am living with my mother, they think i dont need a lot to live off, but that will chance once i'm living on my own etc.

But what i will do when i'm doing all my sums and benefits and working out what i can and can not afford, i won't counter in income support, just in case, and then if i do end up getting it, then it's just an added bonus then!

But thanks for all your help, and the information! x

 

[purpledahlia]

The threshold is around £12,000 but the baby element takes it to £15,000. If you work 16hours plus per week you get working tax credits which can be quite a lot depending on how much you earn.

If you work 2/3 days a week (depending on your hourly rate) you could be looking at paying full rent and council tax. I earn £11.98 an hour and work full time but I get £290 per week in CTC and WTC of which £230 goes to nursery fees. But even after rent I am still better off working financially.

Your local job centre can do an income check for you and find out if you are better on benefits than working but it is rarely the case no matter how much you earn. WTC really helps out. Plus if you have been on income support for 25 weeks you get a lump sum payment of £250 when you sign off.

i dont really understand all the elements and stuff, All i know is i will get what.. 140?? whilst im at my mums and living in a flat on my own, IS, CTC, and CB, Then soon as i can i want to get a job, part time at first and then full time eventually, but i know for sure i need a job and cant sit around and live off that amount for the next year. even if i only get a job 2 or 3 days a week im sure id be better off... Didnt know you get 250 to sign off IS! brill!