advice needed regarding benefits (credit award)

sheppy42

Hi

i have recently been diagnosed with cancer and have mutally agreed to be made redundant and receive a redundancy payment of £15000 plus 3 months garden leave salary at christmas. Once the 3 months salary is gone it will take me nicely up to april 2013 when i intend to apply for ESA (contributions) for a year.

My wife works and when we both worked didnt receive any children tax credits or working tax credits (rightly so)
My wife earns around £280 per week and receives child benefit for 1 child.

Ok so pretend its now april 2013 and i'm filling in my forms.
so in april for the coming year we will be earning much less than (2012 to 2013), that year (2012- 2013) with redundancy we will have earned well over the £42000 threshold

But for the coming year, we will only be on £18500 for all of us including my ESA cont and the wifes salary.

so this is where i get confused and need help
i believe (but i may be wrong) they use last years figures (2012-2013) to work out the coming years claim (apr 2013-2014), even though in the coming year (apr 2013 -2014) we will only be earning £18500. i tested this in benefits advisor and put our old wages in last years box and the new figure in this years box and it gave us nothing for working tax or childrens tax, even though ESA cont is not means tested and we will only be receiving £18500

Is benefits adviser correct? do we get nothing because we earned much more last year. Or do they look at the years projected earnings and redo the award? i have enough to worry about with the chemo and thought it would all work itself out.


i put the £15000 redundancy in the savings box and also tried it with it out and it didnt change anything so it wasnt that

Surely it cant be that we have to go a year without the credits just because we earned more in the previous (2012-2013) year? that was spent last year (all except the redundancy) i cant understand why benefits advisor didnt use this years projected value?

sorry for the long question and hope ive explained it correctly.

Paul

rogerblack

sheppy42 wrote: »

Hi

i have recently been diagnosed with cancer and have mutally agreed to be made redundant and receive a redundancy payment of £15000 plus 3 months garden leave salary at christmas. Once the 3 months salary is gone it will take me nicely up to april 2013 when i intend to apply for ESA (contributions) for a year.

Only addressing this part, and to be blunt.

At the moment, you would only be eligible for ESA if either you are receiving, or recovering from injectable chemotherapy, or your death is reasonably expected within 6 months.
(Note, this does not mean over 50% chance - you can have a reasonable expectation of rain on a cloudy day, even though the chance may be 20%).

There are moves to change this, and to place people receiving oral chemo into the support group too, and this may or may not happen by april 2013.

Of course, there may be other reasons why you meet the tests for ESA. But 'just' having cancer, unless the above is true, does not get you ESA.

An april 2013 claim will be based on the tax years 2010/11 and 11/12.

sheppy42

rogerblack wrote: »

Only addressing this part, and to be blunt.

At the moment, you would only be eligible for ESA if either you are receiving, or recovering from injectable chemotherapy, or your death is reasonably expected within 6 months.
(Note, this does not mean over 50% chance - you can have a reasonable expectation of rain on a cloudy day, even though the chance may be 20%).

There are moves to change this, and to place people receiving oral chemo into the support group too, and this may or may not happen by april 2013.


Of course, there may be other reasons why you meet the tests for ESA. But 'just' having cancer, unless the above is true, does not get you ESA.

An april 2013 claim will be based on the tax years 2010/11 and 11/12.

are you sure about that? it mentions nothing about oral vs injectable in this article

it wont let me post but check the guardian article regarding uturn by government regarding making cancer sufferers come off support group.


There is no way i will be able to work during chemo as it is debilitating. i thought it was when you finished that first year and had to have the medical when it got ridiculous. I can't believe someone with cancer, undefined stage at the moment, will have to sign on. Thats the reason im leaving as i can no longer work with the fatigue i am already facing.

sorry, that last bit regarding claim years, so they will take my last 2 years salary (which is when i was earnin and over the threshold) and use that to work out this years? why have i been paying NI for 26 years??? for when i am ill and need it. how does anyone who is recently out of work ever get any credits then? you have to stand a year or even 2?

madness, you only really truly realise the state of this country when you need help.

merlin68

His talking rubbish you will be placed in the support group, but will only get it for a year as your wife works.
The new rules came out in september.

rogerblack

sheppy42 wrote: »

are you sure about that? it mentions nothing about oral vs injectable in this article

sorry, that last bit regarding claim years, so they will take my last 2 years salary (which is when i was earnin and over the threshold) and use that to work out this years? why have i been paying NI for 26 years??? for when i am ill and need it. how does anyone who is recently out of work ever get any credits then? you have to stand a year or even 2?

For all benefits (apart from state pension), the contributions for years other than the last two complete tax years at the beginning of the year of the benefit claim (so now, the beginning of the year would be January, and that would be part of the 2011/12 taxyear, so the two years before that) are irrelevant.

The relevant passage in the guidance to decisionmakers http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/dmgch42.pdf is 42364
'2. receiving or recovering from treatment by way of intravenous, intraperitoneal or intrathecal chemotherapy or likely to receive such treatment within six months of the date the DM makes the LCWRA determination or' (treated as having LCWRA means that you are placed in the support group)

The guardian story refers to new regulations that have not as of yet been introduced.
They may be introduced by the time you come to claim.
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/work-capability-assessment-cancer-treatment-response.pdf
'Next steps We intend to implement the proposed changes to the WCA by early 2013. This will require regulatory and process delivery changes.'


If you are placed in the support group, there is no time limit. Only in the work-related group.

froo_gal

Hi Sheppy

When you get in touch with tax credits in April, if you explain you have been made redundant and ask that they base the award on this years - April 2013 - April 2014 income as it will be then, ( you can provide an estimate for this if necessary ) they should do.
We were in the same position when my hubby was the main earner and was made redundant, there was no way we would have kept our heads above water on my income alone! Hope this helps.

merlin68

You wont get working tax on that income just child tax of about 60 pounds a week.

Horseunderwater

Having just checked this out for a mate who is recovering from cancer/chemo etc -
You will be placed in the support group regardless - DWP will need something from either your GP or consultant detailing the relevant details - sometimes the "fit note" can be enough. And if you are on Support group contributions then it is not time limited to 12 months as it is for WRAG - you will be given a review date based on prognosis and your recovery - usually anything from 18 months to 3 years.
Your redundancy payoff will not be taken into account under current Tcredits rules as you will be holding that in savings account.
The cut off point for a couple for WTC is approx £17.5k per annum gross income.
However the cut off point for CTC begins at £15860 per annum and is worked out with a taper of 41% down to the basic element of £545 - which based on figures you mentioned £18.5k leaves a CTC of £2152.60 / year or £41.40/week due - I assume that the income figure included your ESA? It would only be disregarded if it was income related. Hope that helps.

rogerblack

Horseunderwater wrote: »

Having just checked this out for a mate who is recovering from cancer/chemo etc -
You will be placed in the support group regardless - DWP will need something from either your GP or consultant detailing the relevant details - sometimes the "fit note" can be enough.

What is your source of this?

Horseunderwater

rogerblack wrote: »

What is your source of this?

It is one of the special circumstances in ESA descriptors Roger.
I cannot post links as my mouse button has died - but if you look for Pseudo-living on this site or even just google it - it should come up. Muttley often refers to it now. It lays out the WRAG/support group descriptors then under that are the special circumstances which the secretary of state say apply and Chemo is one of them!

rogerblack

Horseunderwater wrote: »

It is one of the special circumstances in ESA descriptors Roger.
I cannot post links as my mouse button has died - but if you look for Pseudo-living on this site or even just google it - it should come up. Muttley often refers to it now. It lays out the WRAG/support group descriptors then under that are the special circumstances which the secretary of state say apply and Chemo is one of them!

To quote an earlier post -

The relevant passage in the guidance to decisionmakers http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/dmgch42.pdf is 42364

'2. receiving or recovering from treatment by way of intravenous, intraperitoneal or intrathecal chemotherapy or likely to receive such treatment within six months of the date the DM makes the LCWRA determination or' (treated as having LCWRA means that you are placed in the support group)

Oral chemo does not as of now, count.