im on esa, partner moving in to care for me

lee-d

hello,please can people help me as im totally mentaly and physicaly exhausted, i live on my own and im on ESA and in the support group for mental health problems,my girlfriend who cares for me everyday is having to move in to help me,because my condition is getting very bad now,and she is strugling with all the running round,at the moment she is working 20 hrs a week,but is looking like she might need to be doing around 10 hrs soon due to my health and to take the strain of her as she works out of town,

also i have very little money as i have to put 140 pounds a month towards my rent as housing cant pay all the 500 my rent is,

if she moves in and only works 20 hous a week at 6 pounds a hour and pays towards the rent which i am short of every month how will my benafit be calclated,

also if she works just 10 hours and pays towards my rent how much would it be effected,

thanks for any help i really mean that

rogerblack

If she moves in, your household income will go up by 120 pounds a week.
However.

As I understand it, you'll be on around 110.50/week - basic + support group + enhanced disability premium.

When she moves in, you will go onto the couples rate.
This is higher - 153.80, once you include the above premiums, so you're 43 pounds up.
But the earnings disregard is only 20 pounds.
So, 100 pounds of those earnings come straight off - leaving you with 173.80 at the end of the week, or 63 pounds up.

Council tax will also be affected, unfortunately.

Tehya

If your girlfriend moves in then you will be assessed for benefits as a couple. Try putting both your details (you can try different scenarios to check the different hours she might work) into the directgov benefits calculator https://www.dwpe-services.direct.gov.uk/portal/page/portal/ba/lp or the one at entitledto, http://www.turn2us.org.uk/benefits_search.aspx this will give you a much better idea of how much you'll recieve.

DLA that can make a quite a differnce to the results so make sure you include it if you're claiming it.

epitome

Unless I am mistaken, if you have an entitlement to ESA(C) your partner's earnings will not 'eat' into that portion and so you may find you are on more than the post above says.

Maybe a total of £230 per week incl her wages.

She can work under 24 hours a week. If 24hrs or more, your ESA(IB) will stop, whether she works 10 or 20 hours will make no difference unless you have an entitlement to ESA (C), in which case, she can work and earn as much as she likes and none of it will be deducted....(from your single person rate, i.e. what you get now.)

Are you also on DLA or attendance allowance? maybe you could claim one of those. There is a benefit enquiry line 0800 882 200 which can help you on this.

lee-d

hi,thanks for all your help im on income based esa ,so if anybody knows how her working 10 hrs at 6pounds a hour would effect me that would be great,this forum is very helpfull,thanks

epitome

Let's start with how much you get now.

rogerblack

lee-d wrote: »

hi,thanks for all your help im on income based esa ,so if anybody knows how her working 10 hrs at 6pounds a hour would effect me that would be great,this forum is very helpfull,thanks

As long as you remain eligible for ESA, it's the same figure if she earns between 20 pounds, and 173.80, as the money she earns (apart from 20 quid) is offset against your ESA.

You get 173.80.
If she earns over this, then your entitlement to ESA(IR) goes away.

Council tax benefit may change also, and housing benefit.

(figures are approximate, I suspect they are a percent higher due to the recent rise.)

lee-d

epitome wrote: »

Let's start with how much you get now.

im on this, 110.50/week - basic + support group + enhanced disability premium.

plus i get single person housing benafit and council tax payed,
i have to pay 150 towards my housing