5 minute benefit check up Article Discussion Area

peachespeaches

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 have just used the entitled to calculator for the first time. It stated we werent entitled to child care costs as my number of working hours is 0. We are entitled to childcare costs because Im disabled i.e. on incapacity benefit long term plus lower rate care DLA. I had already entered these in when I got to the tax credits childcare section, so its obviously a flaw in the calculator.

JulesJones

I used the calcutor for the first time last night using my existing situation as a guide and it came out to within £10 of our monthly amounts, ( so impressived) Im hoping its as good as working out my potential situation.

Im having to leave work through illhealth, the Jobcentre Plus advisor said that I would be able to go on incapacity benifit for a few month to get well enough before I have to start seeking a new job. If the calulator works correctly, we will also be entitled to adult income supprt, council tax benifit and max child tax credits (which we already get) and child benifit.i

I have one question , my husband has been a househusband for the last 12 years and not claimed any benifits in his own name ( just as a joint applicant for WTW etc) he is not in the best of health, has a hernia, asthma and some other problems, in order for us to get the benifits above would he have to go to to doctor and also go on incapicity benifit, or if the Doc says hes well enought to hold down some type of work, would he have to sign on as seeking work?

thanks for any help ppls can give.
Jules

daff_duck

peachespeaches wrote: »

I have just used the entitled to calculator for the first time. It stated we werent entitled to child care costs as my number of working hours is 0. We are entitled to childcare costs because Im disabled i.e. on incapacity benefit long term plus lower rate care DLA. I had already entered these in when I got to the tax credits childcare section, so its obviously a flaw in the calculator.

Why would there be an entitlement to childcare if you are dsabled? I think it is only payable if you work and use a registered chilminder or nursery.

wantedtoomuch

Hi,

I used this site last year and the figures they gave looked good.

I rang WFTC to be given a figure of less than quoted on entitledto, I challenged this and they told me that the site is nothing to do with the Inland Revenue and therefore not an accurate or true reflection when quoting.

I recently worked 33 hours a week and following a major operation found these hours too much.

I went to Citizens Advice and asked them to calculate what I would be entitled to if I dropped my hours from 33 to 24 a week as life is a struggle.

They gave me a quote which matches that of entitledto, I just checked - wish I had done that before dropping my hours - hindsight!

I assumed that these people were in the know and happy with the quote they gave and went ahead and reduced my hours.

WRONG

I am in private rented accommodtion as a single mum with two kids - 9 and 5. The reason I am in private rented is becase the council said you work you can private rent why are you here for help! Magic.

Anyway.......

Thanks to advice I am now over £250 a month down, and prior to that my disposable income on 33 hours and by disposable I mean I had to fund school trips, uniform, shoes, clothes, childrens clubs, petrol and the running of a car on £125 a month, hardly an amount to get by on after all bills and food paid!

I cannot budget for that kind of money, I do not have the means to budget for such a large downfall.

I pay £650 a month in rent and £80 a month in council tax, my take home pay does not cover the two combined!

According to the site I would be entitled to Housing Benefit......WRONG....I would have got something like the figure quoted but I am over occupying space and my rent is considered to much! I am in a 3 bedroomed house with 2 kids, according to the Council I should be in a 2 bedroomed property, ok, I said, Boy and girl, boy being the eldest, tough, they can share until he is 12 -13 Sorry but that is gross!

Another point they made is that housing benefit is usually only paid to those working under 16 hours a week and it is ultamitely down to the housing officer as to what they pay out!

My WFTC shot down not up even though I am now earning about £3,000 a year less, this is due to me working 24 hours instead of 33, before I was entitled to the 30 plus hours a week element!

So worse off on the WFTC front, not entitled to housing or council tax benefit and not entitled to anything else!

Not being funny but you read in the papers about people not working and how much they get I think it is grossly unfair.

I go to work and try my hardest to support myself and 2 kids and get shat on for doing it.

The council think £650 a month is expensive for rent, it is the cheapest I could find, it is also in the perfect location as it means I rarely have to use the car that I cannot afford to run. I walk my kids to school which takes a good 25 mins - which the Government want you to do.

A life of poverty, lovely, everything BLIAR said he stood against.

I was homeless with the 2 kids when I first ever approached the Council for help and told to private rent.

I know women on similar incomes etc that are in council houses paying a lot less in rent and getting slightly more on CTC?

I have no idea how they work these things out.

I am not on the Council list for housing as I now have no points. When I was homeless and went they told me 2 years at the earliest before I would get housed!

Sorry for the rant!

Just be aware the figures quoted on entitledto will not be a true reflection as it is nothing to do with Inland Revenue.

daff_duck

My husband claims IB for himself at long term and income support for me and the children. I get carers allowance and child benefit. He is thinking of working for himself around 16-20 hours p/w. We did a calculation and this is what it said based on his wage of 110p/w and my carers of 47p/w. He does get DLA at middle and care at lower rate. What we are confused about is the line about income support. If he is working these hours we wouldn't be entilted to this. Should we just take off the 18.97 it says we would get and go by that?

Income from tax credits: - £8,520.14 - £163.40 Amount entered by user.

Income Support/JSA: £989.15- £18.97 Assumes adult-only Income Support/JSA(IB).

Council Tax Benefit: £329.33 £6.32 Based on an income of £163.40 entered by user from tax credits.

Total: £9,838.62 £188.69 Total means-tested entitlements
Earned Income (net): £5,500.02 £105.48
Other Income (net): £2,448.10 £46.95
Income From Child Benefit: £1,519.96 £29.15
Total Income: £19,306.70 £370.27

daff_duck

Why does this calculater keep saying I could get income support with disabled hubby working p/t and getting tax credits?

missy_mell

The benefit check say's my partner is entitled to £79.17 a week working tax credit and his payments stopped after 10 weeks saying he had recieved all his award for the tax year

firesidemaid

can anyone assist me please in trying to see whether my parents are entitled to any benefits please?

my dad is 63 and my mum 62. my dad has not reached state pension age and has a small occupational pension income. my mum gets about 3/4 of a full state pension. they have a small amount of savings which is rapidly going down. when my dad reaches 65 he will also get a full state pension. he retired artificially early to spend time with my mum.

they rent a council house. in theory 'entitled to' says they are entitled to housing and council tax benefit, but would they really get this as my dad is able to work in theory. or because he does have an income of some sort that is ok?

when we rand the pension service a while back they said they were not entitled to anything. now i am worrying that they may be wrong and that they have lost out on some benefits.

thank you in advance for all help

isasmurf

If your parents income is less than £181.70 a week, they will be entitled to Pension Credit. Every £500 of savings above £6000 counts as £1 of income. You could use the Pension Credit calculator to check.

Housing and Council Tax Benefit are not conditional on the basis of not being able to work. You can still receive these if you are working. If they do get Pension Credit they will almost certainly get maximum Housing and Council Tax Benefit. I'd suggest they speak to their local council.

They should also qualify for the Winter Fuel Payment

eloquin

MSE_Archna wrote: »

This thread is specifically to discuss the content of the

5 minute benefit check up Article

To discuss or ask a question about the article: click reply

Just a little question: Is there a time limit for eligibility on claims? In other words, are people entitled to claim in retrospect?