Life is becomming a complete mess

swingaloo

We seem to be stuck in a situation that is spiralling out of control and I dont know how to begin to sort it.
We seem to be stuck in the catch 22 as far as any help goes.

The situation is- My partner has been retired on 'ill health grounds'. He is 46 and fully intends to look for work once he has had the operation he is waiting for. He currently gets just over £120 a week made up of 'incapacity benefit' and Industrial Injuries benefit.

We live in rented property and the rent rises £20 a month every 12 months and is at the moment £575 a month. Add this to the other bills and child maintenance which he pays and it comes to over £1000 a month.

I work for an agency and so the work is not constant. I can have a full week one week folowwed by 2 days the next week and 3 days the next, gowever its unusual to have more than 2 full weeks in any month. l am paid minimum wage. I also have to do alternating shifts including nights.

My son lives with us and he also is working for the agency. He has been trying for ages to get a better job but there dosnt seem to be anything thats not agency.

Now to the nitty gritty, Im 59 and obviously due to retire in a couple of years. I have always worked but a lot of it was part time when my son was young and I also worked for years in the family business and was just paid cash in hand and no stamps were put on (you dont think about the impact of this when you are young and silly) so I know I wont have a full pension when the time comes.

At the moment the job I am doing is literally killing me, its far too physical and my health is terrible but I cant afford not to take as many shifts as Im offered. Im so much younger than my partner and always just assumed that I would try to carry on work until he was also due to retire.

Thats the background, now my questions- or points I would appreciate opinions on!

A friend recently told me that I was going to ruin my health completely if I carried on at this job and said she thought I should see a doctor, finish work completely and that if we were to go on benefits we would probably be better off anyway than me on the agency. Thats completely alien to me, I have always earned my own living and have never wanted to claim benefits but she told me that my principles wont matter if Im in an early grave. She was quite blunt!!!! Ive tried looking for other work but besides the fact that they are few and far between my age is also against me with employers.


If I was married I believe I would be able to claim a pension based on my husbands contributions???? It seems wrong to get married just for this reason however there is no reason for us not to marry so would it be better if we did?

We have thought about trying for council tax benefit and housing benefit since my partner came out of work. This in itself is a problem if what Ive been told is correct. I was told you have to produce wage slips for the previous 12 weeks when you start a claim. Both my son and I would have to show our wage slips, however the 6 weeks leading up to Xmas were 'peak season' at work and we had more regular hours than we will get for the next couple of months. Neither of us has had a shift since the day before Xmas eve but the payslips they would look at will not be a true representation of our future income. (Hope that makes sense)
I was told that if you are turned down (which we may be on the previous 12 weeks wageslips) then you cannot reopen a claim at a later date. Is this true?

Im also not sure how the system would work as we may end up in the situation of having to inform them of a change of circumstance every single week.

In a nutshell, I dont think my health is going to let me do this job much longer and I dont know which way to turn. I have been at the hospital today and was told by the doctor there that I should not be doing the type of work that I am doing but I feel trapped. I cant afford to give it up but cant keep going indefinatly.

Thank you for reading all this.

Hammyman

You are like my parents - both doing a job that they're not fit enough to do and are in the same boat - would be better off on the dole.

You do agency work but are you claiming JSA when there is no work? If not YOU SHOULD as you are entitled to - I did agency work where Jan - March was typically dead with the odd day here and there and signed on. In addition, you can open a claim at a later date.

My advice would be that as you are not currently working, get yourself down to the job center and claim JSA. You can then start a HB and CTB claim and the fact you got whatever income up to Xmas won't have any effect. When the agency work picks up, sign off.

Have you been claiming Working Tax Credits?

stresshead81_2

Hammyman, Great answer! You should also, on another note, speak to Citizens Advice if there is one near you. The reason for doing this is because you will be given more in depth help applying for benefits. Hammyman is correct in that you would be able to get a more steady income, albeit minimal, and it would enable you and your family to apply for housing and council tax benefits. CAB would also be able to fully assess your requirements as well as perhaps looking at getting certain outgoings, such as child support, reduced due to the circumstances he is in.

As for doing a job that you are not fit to do, we have all been there and I totally understand why you are doing it. You need to put your health first, not your bank balance. I learnt this the hard way and at 29 I am unlikely to be able to work full time ever again due to my health issues.

enabledebra

You should ensure the HB dept know that your earnings over the period are not an accurate reflection as Housing Council Tax benefit will calculate your income using whatever means they consider to give the most accurate level of earnings rather than being bound to an unrepresentative average over a particular period (and if you don't qualify at this stage you can apply again at any time.) If there is a recognisable cycle of work (eg 40 hours monthly) then this will be used to calculate earnings. You son's earnings will only be used to calculate a 'non dependent deduction' from your housing benefit rather than being seen as part of your household income. If his income is below £120.00 each week he will be assumed to be contributing £7.40 per week to your rent and £6.95 per week to your council tax and their calculation will take this into account.

As a woman with a child(ren) your pension may not be as badly affected by your NI record as you might think.
You should apply for an estimate of your pension on retirement here to help you plan for the future:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Diol1/DoItOnline/DG_4017970

If you forecast is low here is information about how a husband's NI may generate a pension for a married woman:
http://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/women--pensions/basic-state-pension

You should also check out if/when you will be entitled to claim pension credit (this is not the same thing as your state pension) here:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Pensionsandretirementplanning/PensionCredit/DG_10018692

If your partner has problems with his mobility or looking after his own basic needs (and is unlikley to have his operation within 6 months) you could look into claiming Disability Living Allowance:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/FinancialSupport/DisabilityLivingAllowance/DG_10011816

swingaloo

Thank you for the replies.

To answer the points made-

My advice would be that as you are not currently working, get yourself down to the job center and claim JSA. You can then start a HB and CTB claim and the fact you got whatever income up to Xmas won't have any effect. When the agency work picks up, sign off.

I did apply for JSA before I first started with the agency but was not eligible for the contribution based and did not qualify for the means tested as my partner was working then. My son has applied as he qualifies and works for the same agency but in all honesty its a nightmare. Its continuously stopping and starting the claim. If he gets more than 2 days work in the week they close his claim and then he has to start all over again. The trouble is also that you only find out if your shift is on about 3 hours before your shift starts, or if its the morning shift you get to know about 8pm the night before.
Now my partner is not in work I will try to claim again.


Have you been claiming working tax credits

I tried to claim but as it goes off the joint income of myself and my partner for the working year 2009/2010 my claim was turned down as my partner had a decent wage then.


You son's earnings will only be used to calculate a 'non dependent deduction' from your housing benefit rather than being seen as part of your household income. If his income is below £120.00 each week he will be assumed to be contributing £7.40 per week to your rent and £6.95 per week to your council tax and their calculation will take this into account

Thank you for this information. I know I tried once before to claim housing benefit just before I started work with the agency and we were turned down. I know then that they took my partners wage and my sons into consideration though but he was on a better wage then than he is now.


I will try to get an appointment with the CAB. Thank you.

sleepless_saver

swingaloo wrote: »

Have you been claiming working tax credits

I tried to claim but as it goes off the joint income of myself and my partner for the working year 2009/2010 my claim was turned down as my partner had a decent wage then.

.

Ask them to assess you for tax credits again on the basis of expected income this year as it has fallen so much.

Not sure anyone responded to your earlier point about marriage. The 60% of spouse's pension only comes into play when the spouse reaches state pension age. Your partner is only 46 so you'd have quite a wait.

Excellent advice from the other posters here.

RAS

swingaloo wrote: »

. He currently gets just over £120 a week made up of 'incapacity benefit' and Industrial Injuries benefit.

We live in rented property and the rent rises £20 a month every 12 months and is at the moment £575 a month. Add this to the other bills and child maintenance which he pays and it comes to over £1000 a month.

If your partner is on benefits, he should only be paying £5 per week in maintenance. He needs to contact the CSA and ask for a reassessment NOW.

swingaloo wrote: »

. Im so much younger than my partner and always just assumed that I would try to carry on work until he was also due to retire.

If you are 59 and he is 46, this does not tally? And do you really think you would be able to work until you are 73 if the job is "killing" you now?

You need to apply for JSA NOW - you can do this on-line, WTC and Housing Benefit.

Go to www.entitledto.com and it takes you to the TURN2US web-site.

sleepless_saver

RAS wrote: »

You need to apply for JSA NOW - you can do this on-line, WTC and Housing Benefit.

Can't apply for JSA and WTC simultaneously. WTC if still working, JSA (or possibly ESA given OP's health problems) if not working.

hobbledehoy.

sleepless_saver wrote: »

Ask them to assess you for tax credits again on the basis of expected income this year as it has fallen so much.

Not sure anyone responded to your earlier point about marriage. The 60% of spouse's pension only comes into play when the spouse reaches state pension age. Your partner is only 46 so you'd have quite a wait.

Excellent advice from the other posters here.

Hello,

I think I am right on this. Does your hours not have to average over 16 a week to be eligible and over 30 to get the maximum tax credits? And how can they claim WTC when JSA is being claimed?

boogiequeenie

How much does your partner pay for maintenance? If he's on benefits then really he shouldnt be paying anything. If your situation is spiralying out of control have you thought about moving? To be blunt - I would agree with your freind. It would make your life a lot easier.

In the meantime see if you can cut down on anything else like food utilites.. loans ... that sort of thing.

welshmoneylover

boogiequeenie wrote: »

How much does your partner pay for maintenance? If he's on benefits then really he shouldnt be paying anything.

Why not? What a silly thing to post. Why should the PWC not receive £5 maintenance?