nrp & joint benefits

plimsoll

My NRP has apparently gone onto his new partners benefits - she has admitted to the other PWC that this is a deliberate strategy to avoid paying CSA (altho I suspect now switching to joint benefits rather than continuing single as they have been despite allegedly having lived together for about 5 or 6 mths was not entirely down to CSA, just his name going on hers rather than vice versa).

If they can't take £5 per week for current CSA, is there any chance they can somehow chase him for arrears?? From what I've been told there are currently no children in their household - although they're apparently "trying".... :rotfl: not sure what makes her think he's likely to behave any differently towards her than how she's apparently happy for him to behave towards us...

DX2

If the only income is benefits then the CSA can only deduct a fiver a week, so I very much doubt they can start chasing him for the arrears.

shell_542

I'm not very clued on the benefit system, but why, if they've moved in together and are now just claiming benefits jointly, would they stop asking for the £5 per week? Especially if they have no other children in the household.

plimsoll

because it's her name first. which means all money is paid to her not him even tho some of it is to support him. If they CAN actually still go for the £5 a week general maintenance then great, I will call CSA & point them in the right direction afaic but my understanding was they can't. (when we were on joint benefits at times together, it was always his name. which meant when I got a job altho JSA is included in your tax-free income, it was all counted as his so I was (eventually) only taxed on my earnings as I was deemed to have had nil income apart from earnings)

DX2

The flat rate of child maintenance is £5 a week - no matter how many children are involved.

The non-resident parent pays a flat rate for child maintenance if:

• their net weekly income is between £5 and £100, or
• they or their partner who they live with gets Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income based Employment and Support Allowance or Pension Credit, or
• they are getting one of the following benefits:
  • contribution-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
  • State Retirement Pension
  • Incapacity Benefit
  • Carer's Allowance
  • Widowed Mother’s Allowance, Widowed Parent's Allowance, Widow's Pension
  • Severe Disablement Allowance
  • Industrial Injuries Benefit
  • Maternity Allowance
  • a training allowance approved by the Department for Work and Pensions
  • Armed Forces Compensation Scheme payments
  • a War Disablement or War Widow’s Pension
  • Bereavement Allowance
  • a social security benefit paid by a country outside the United Kingdom.

Non-resident parents who pay the flat rate because they receive a benefit, pension or allowance will pay no child maintenance if they share the care of a qualifying child for at least 52 nights a year. Non-resident parents who pay the flat rate because they have net weekly income of £100 or less have no further reduction because of shared care and they continue to pay £5.
An exception to this rule is if a non-resident parent is liable for child maintenance to more than one parent with care, but does not share the care of all the qualifying children. If this is the case, the non-resident parent will still have to pay the share of the child maintenance due to any parent with care with whom there are no shared care arrangements.
http://www.csa.gov.uk/en/setup/benefit-income.asp

shell_542

I thought the same DX2, so they should still be taking the £5 a week. It doesn't matter who has their name first or the bank account it's paid into, it's a joint claim. So his name is still on it somewhere.

plimsoll

thank you I will ring them then