5 minute benefit check up Article Discussion Area

Cinders2001

entitledto wrote:

If you have any comments on the calculator we would really like to hear from you. Please email us or leave a posting.

Yes it is different than the other one.
But i'm not sure if the info you give is correct (hope i'm wrong).

My mother in Law gets a state pention and has savings of about 30,000.
She gets a % taken off her council tax as she is alone.

Your site says she can get a pension credit, but when I asked in the benifits office they said as she had more than 16,000 she cannot.

isasmurf

Cinders2001 wrote:

Your site says she can get a pension credit, but when I asked in the benifits office they said as she had more than 16,000 she cannot.

The benefits office has got it wrong in this case. The £16,000 limit of savings that usually means you cannot get means tested benefits does not apply to Pension Credit. However, every £500 of savings above £6,000 does reduce the amount of Pension Credit she will be entitled to by £1 a week.

Cinders2001

Thanks isasmurf, how can I get an 'old' lady to even try to go for the benefit as she is totally sure she cant get a thing.

Can I ask in her behalf?
What will I need to be able to?

Tafia

entitledto wrote:

If you have any comments on the calculator we would really like to hear from you. Please email us or leave a posting.

I followed your calculator and the end result was wrong. It gave me an annual income of £528,000 !!

I double checked the figures I had entered.

Help

Cheers

T.

Fran

Cinders2001 wrote:

Thanks isasmurf, how can I get an 'old' lady to even try to go for the benefit as she is totally sure she cant get a thing.

Can I ask in her behalf?
What will I need to be able to?

Cinders,

You could get the forms for her and help her fill them in, other than that you can't force her to fill them in.

barbie5650

I now get full widows entitlement as my husband of 55 passed away in July with Mesothelioma (asbestos related cancer). But get this I do not qualify for 25% reduction on my council tax as my son has just finished Uni and is back home but actively job hunting. He has no income how unfair is that I dont qualify, perhaps I should make him live on the streets and then I would qualify.(I jest)

CIS

Get your son to claim council tax benefit for his share of the CTax, have you tried claiming CTax Benefit for your share ?

Fran

barbie5650 wrote:

I do not qualify for 25% reduction on my council tax as my son has just finished Uni and is back home but actively job hunting.

Yes if your income is low enough you might be entitled to some Council Tax Benefit, if not ask them about Second Adult Rebate. This is based on the income of the non dependant living in your house, but claimed by you.

Emid_3

Hi Vital Spark

I'm pretty sure that you must have had an answer to this problem by now, but just in case you haven't, I'm pretty sure that 'Student Finance Direct' (the company which assesses entitlement for student loans & grants) will class the lady in question as an 'independent' student, as she is a mother herself. Therefore there will be no need to take into account her parent's income, no matter where she lives.
HTH
Emily.

creamtea_2

:A Join the Macmillan campaign for those who have cancer and cannot work, yet cannot get benefits as husband/wife/partner works - these type of people could lose their homes.

see Macmillan website - search for uk Macmillan and look up campaign.

Thanks:A