No help but only working part time

Gemmzie

OP, when you were off sick because of the operation - when was this and were you on benefits then?

AsknAnswer

sally0101 wrote: »

Yes but then you have gas, electric, phone, petrol, food, car tax, car insurance among other things.

£64.50 per week is the figure the government states that a single person with no dependents or disabilties needs to live on, after rent and council tax. That is why means tested benefit payments to someone in your situation is limited to £64.50 per week. (Income based Jobseekers Allowance or Income Support). If someone gets this benefit, they will usually qualify for full Housing benefit and full council tax benefit, however not always.

For example if they are renting privately, find themselves out of work, haven't paid enough national insurance contributions and are capable of working, they will more than likely get Income Based Jobseekers Allowance of £64.50 per week. If the cost of their private let is high and/or they are living in a property that is deemed too large for a single person's needs (example single person renting a 4 bedroom property), housing benefit may only pay a part of their rent, leaving the person concerned having to pay the remainder.

All the expenses you mentioned above are living expenses which are expected to be paid out of the £64.50 per week. If you are earning above the threshold then you will not be entitled. HOWEVER, and this is only a however, as I am not experienced greatly in local authority benefits - as you are working, I would have thought the threshold would be set slightly higher - it's hardly an incentive to work if not.

On another note - are you receiving your council tax discount. As a single person living alone you are entitled to a 25% reduction in council tax, regardless of how much you earn.
If you are not receiving this, ask your local council for a "single person discount form" to apply for it.

mgardner

catenorfolk wrote: »

a LOT OF oap'S have to do this and many other people. We buy budget food, walk and bus, turn everything off when not in use, dont have a car, which then eliminates car insurance and tax, we also purchase budget clothes, ie at primark, buy 2 for 1 etc. It is really hard but if no choice what can you do.

A single oap gets 130 pounds per week, Full housing benefit and Council Tax benefit
The OP and many others are expected to live on half of this.

vegankris

mgardner wrote: »

A single oap gets 130 pounds per week, Full housing benefit and Council Tax benefit
The OP and many others are expected to live on half of this.

And they get a bus pass to boot. Unemployed people don't have a workplace to travel to either whereas the OP does. Not sure if you'd be entitled to anything( though it is worth seeing CAB), but it does seem horribly unfair.

Pepzofio

AsknAnswer wrote: »

All the expenses you mentioned above are living expenses which are expected to be paid out of the £64.50 per week. If you are earning above the threshold then you will not be entitled. HOWEVER, and this is only a however, as I am not experienced greatly in local authority benefits - as you are working, I would have thought the threshold would be set slightly higher - it's hardly an incentive to work if not.

Yes it is - £5/wk for a single person with no dependents! Mental really...

However, with HB/CTB 'only' 65% of earnings above the threshold are deducted from benefit, rather than 100% as with IS/ib-JSA. e.g. if you earn £50 over the threshold you would be expected to pay £32.50/wk towards your rent then HB would top up the rest. Same principle for CT but it is 20%, so in the example given it would be the first £10/wk.

(Oh and I believe the personal allowance for single claimants over 25 is £64.30, not £64.50.)

angreykaz

Hi I have just had a look on the working tax credit website if you work more than 16hrs a week you can claim. Have you tried claiming income support? Another thing you could do is go to the C.A.B I have found them very helpful they can do a calculation for you. Hope this is some help for you. good luck let us know how you get on dont give up. I have had some terrible probs with the system I just keep plugging away.

Pepzofio

angreykaz wrote: »

Hi I have just had a look on the working tax credit website if you work more than 16hrs a week you can claim. Have you tried claiming income support? Another thing you could do is go to the C.A.B I have found them very helpful they can do a calculation for you. Hope this is some help for you. good luck let us know how you get on dont give up. I have had some terrible probs with the system I just keep plugging away.

OP has no dependent children, therefore she cannot claim WTC as she would need to work 30hrs minimum.

She cannot claim IS as she works 16hrs+, also IS on grounds of disability no longer exists, it would be ESA.

Blackpool_Saver

sally0101 wrote: »

At the 3 months, Ocupational health said I had to remain at 22.5 until my next review. Hoping to be increased to 30hrs then eventually 37.5hrs but worried financilly in the meantime

Claim being disabled and get letters from dr for this, if occupational health say 22.5 hrs then disability should be claimable. Go and see a personal advisor at the job centre.