Housing Benefit confusion.

samwich1979

uganda wrote: »

Ok, well then, your entitlement until your child turns 1 will be whatever your rent (or local housing allowance if you are renting privately) is less £74.30 - does that sound correct?

My council have worked this out as:

LHA= £103.85

Less 65% of excess income= £98.87

So my weekly HB awarded is £4.98

Does this sound right to you?

Just do not get any of it to be honest!

uganda

samwich1979 wrote: »

My council have worked this out as:

LHA= £103.85

Less 65% of excess income= £98.87

So my weekly HB awarded is £4.98

Does this sound right to you?

Just do not get any of it to be honest!

No, it doesn't sound right, it seems like they are saying that you are earning £375.39 per week (£1626.68pcm) - check the payslips you gave them and average the net amounts (after tax, NI and half your pension contribution), does it come out as that high?

samwich1979

uganda wrote: »

No, it doesn't sound right, it seems like they are saying that you are earning £375.39 per week (£1626.68pcm) - check the payslips you gave them and average the net amounts (after tax, NI and half your pension contribution), does it come out as that high?

The first payslip i got after going back to work in November was a net of £1500.35. So they are way off the mark, really dont get how they worked it out.
I get my next payslip on 22/12/11 so i think i will take that when i get it too just to prove it will be the same as i dont work any overtime etc.

uganda

samwich1979 wrote: »

The first payslip i got after going back to work in November was a net of £1500.35. So they are way off the mark, really dont get how they worked it out.
I get my next payslip on 22/12/11 so i think i will take that when i get it too just to prove it will be the same as i dont work any overtime etc.

Right, that's £346.23pw, so check your entitlement letter to see if that is the figure they have used. If not, then you must question it promptly (within a month). Do you have other deductions off your pay other than tax and national insurance?

samwich1979

uganda wrote: »

Right, that's £346.23pw, so check your entitlement letter to see if that is the figure they have used. If not, then you must question it promptly (within a month). Do you have other deductions off your pay other than tax and national insurance?

According to my letter the income used in their calculations is £337.79.

This how they worked this out:

Weekly earned income gross: £474.58

Less Tax: £59.95
Less National Insurance: £34.32
Less 50% of Pension Contributions: £15.42
Less disregarded income: £27.10

Child Benefit: £20.30
Less disregarded income: -£20.30

Total income used in this calculation: £337.79

Also the law says we need £185.68 per week to live on, for myself and my husband and child.

My rent is £475 per month and the LHA is £103.85.

They take away 65% of my excess income which is £98.87 and this is how they come to £4.98 per week HB.

Hope this explains things better, does it all add up or should i still check with them tomorrow?

polkadot

Did you get any maternity pay or anything like that, that was reflected on your payslips which you gave them?

We gave up earlier this year because after we had our baby last year in August and a 2% pay increase at the end of the year-when we provided payslips there was a £2000 bonus on the payslip and they included this as annual income.It meant we went from £120 fortnightly down to £50 odd with an overpayment that sits currently at £400 odd (was £600 when we started) and our payment since then has been £25 a fortnight as a result.

uganda

samwich1979 wrote: »

According to my letter the income used in their calculations is £337.79.

This how they worked this out:

Weekly earned income gross: £474.58

Less Tax: £59.95
Less National Insurance: £34.32
Less 50% of Pension Contributions: £15.42
Less disregarded income: £27.10

Child Benefit: £20.30
Less disregarded income: -£20.30

Total income used in this calculation: £337.79

Also the law says we need £185.68 per week to live on, for myself and my husband and child.

My rent is £475 per month and the LHA is £103.85.

They take away 65% of my excess income which is £98.87 and this is how they come to £4.98 per week HB.

Hope this explains things better, does it all add up or should i still check with them tomorrow?

Right, so you are actually netting £1514.37 per month and, since only half the pension contribution is disregarded, it is treated as a net monthly income of £1581.19pcm, which comes out at £364.89pw. Less disregards of £27.10pw, your assessed income is £339.79pw.

So yes, I'm afraid their calculation is correct. By the way, I gave you a bit of out-of-date information earlier as I was including the family premium for people that have a child under 1, which has effectively been abolished - I apologise for that, old habits die hard sometimes!

You will actually be getting 50p per week only while they claw the rest back for the overpayment recovery. I can see it's not an easy time for you financially, I strongly suggest you go to the budgeting boards for advice on making your meagre income stretch as far as possible - from everything you have said, your benefit amounts appear to be correct. Do let them know promptly if your income drops though, and let me know if there is anything else that I might not have taken into account.

samwich1979

uganda wrote: »

Right, so you are actually netting £1514.37 per month and, since only half the pension contribution is disregarded, it is treated as a net monthly income of £1581.19pcm, which comes out at £364.89pw. Less disregards of £27.10pw, your assessed income is £339.79pw.

So yes, I'm afraid their calculation is correct. By the way, I gave you a bit of out-of-date information earlier as I was including the family premium for people that have a child under 1, which has effectively been abolished - I apologise for that, old habits die hard sometimes!

You will actually be getting 50p per week only while they claw the rest back for the overpayment recovery. I can see it's not an easy time for you financially, I strongly suggest you go to the budgeting boards for advice on making your meagre income stretch as far as possible - from everything you have said, your benefit amounts appear to be correct. Do let them know promptly if your income drops though, and let me know if there is anything else that I might not have taken into account.

How am i netting £1514.37 when on my payslip its £1500. 35? only additional income i have is CB for one child and this is disregarded.
Dont understand where the £14.37 has come from!
Sorry it really does confuse me all this.

samwich1979

polkadot wrote: »

Did you get any maternity pay or anything like that, that was reflected on your payslips which you gave them?

We gave up earlier this year because after we had our baby last year in August and a 2% pay increase at the end of the year-when we provided payslips there was a £2000 bonus on the payslip and they included this as annual income.It meant we went from £120 fortnightly down to £50 odd with an overpayment that sits currently at £400 odd (was £600 when we started) and our payment since then has been £25 a fortnight as a result.

All ive had since going back to work is my basic monthly pay, no overtime or anything. My maternity pay stopped in October and i went back to work in November.
I just think its madness how they can drop it so drastically after only a £200 a month wage increase which is eaten up straight away by the extra costs of returning to work and supporting my family.
Just dont know how we are expected to live like this.

uganda

samwich1979 wrote: »

How am i netting £1514.37 when on my payslip its £1500. 35?

Ok, state the gross income and list all the deductions on your payslip and the amounts and I'll try and see how they have come to their figure.