Confused with housing benefit

marshymixup

I was wondering if anyone could help me.
I receive IB, my husband has recently got very ill, and had to quit work due to having part of a lung removed.He has been put on esa and was in the work related contributions group. This meant we got some help with housing benefit.
After a recent medical he was put in the top group ( sorry don't know the name , he doesnt have to go for interviews) and now we have been told we can get full HB . I don't understand how this can be right when the household income is roughly the same maybe even a little higher.
We struggle to manage since he had to stop work, but I don't want to accept money that is not right, I rang them and they said is it right something about a passported benefit, but what about my income? doesn't that count?
Any help appreciated as I have rung them twice trying to give the money back,incase they are wrong

missapril75

There are often little quirks in the system like this. A passported benefit is one where you get the full amount due to the existence of another benefit. The most obvious example is basic Income Support. If you get it, you qualify for the maximum Housing Benefit. Should a recipient of Income Support then become due, say, DLA there are premiums (bonuses if you like) that will be added to the Income Support level. The DLA would be a gain in income and the Income Support would be paid at a higher rate as well. But the fact that Income Support is in payment (even if income has taken a big leap) the maximum HB is still due. It looks generous doesn't it.

pmlindyloo

marshymixup wrote: »

I was wondering if anyone could help me.
I receive IB, my husband has recently got very ill, and had to quit work due to having part of a lung removed.He has been put on esa and was in the work related contributions group. This meant we got some help with housing benefit.
After a recent medical he was put in the top group ( sorry don't know the name , he doesnt have to go for interviews) and now we have been told we can get full HB . I don't understand how this can be right when the household income is roughly the same maybe even a little higher.
We struggle to manage since he had to stop work, but I don't want to accept money that is not right, I rang them and they said is it right something about a passported benefit, but what about my income? doesn't that count?
Any help appreciated as I have rung them twice trying to give the money back,incase they are wrong

I must admit I was a little confused like the OP.

OP is on Incapacity Benefit.

Husband left work and was put on contribution based ESA in the work related grop.

They received a small amount of HB.

Husband then had a medical and was put in the, I assume, Support Group. (contribution based?)

Now they received full HB.

If the circumstances haven't changed then why would putting someone in the Support Group passport them to full HB.

Even if the OP's husband had an income related addition to his contribution based benefit why would he not have received full HB before?

Hope you understand what I mean:).

Perhaps their financial circumstances have changed between his being swopped from one group to the other.

Am I missing something?

daimonde

the support component of the ESA is more valuable then the Work Component, not just in the pure cash but it attracts different premiums too, so suppose this could push them to a high enough applicable amount to qualify for ESA(ir), which is the only way it would be 'passported'.

easiest way to find out is for Marshy to give us some figures to work on !

fluffymovie

Yes, income related ESA should include your income as its done as a couple. ESA IR means full HB/CTB. The support component is higher than the work component but an equivalent amount is added to the amount the govt say you need to live on.