Help! Partner claims ESA but I have been sent a letter re work?

Morlock

Tigerlilly2013 wrote: »

I still am unsure why the carers allowance is an issue though, if it has been stated as me being his carer then I don't really understand how that stops me officially being his carer?

Because you are an adult dependent on his claim for ESA, he is receiving the benefits to which you are entitled. The amount he receives would be a lot less if you were not the partner on his claim, that extra amount is your income.

Wicked_witch

You will only be an 'official' carer in the eyes of the DWP if you claim Carer's Allowance. This can be claimed if your husband gets the middle or higher rate of the care component of DLA and is a seperate benefit you claim yourself. He will then stop getting the extra money for you, but this will be made up by the Carer's Allowance and possibly an income support top up if benefits are your only income. You won't be hugely better off financially, but you will have carer status and not pushed to find other work (tho you still have occasional interviews- I've only had one in over 2 years though.)

If he gets Lower rate care, you can't claim Carer's Allowance and won't be an 'official' carer in any way.

There are other issues with claiming CA, so speak to an advisor or the CAB before you do it.

Tigerlilly2013

nannytone wrote: »

it doesnt matter who's bamk account the carers allowance is paid into...
YOU are the one receiving carers allowance.
your husband cant claim to care for himself!

just because his name appears on the ESA claim means nothing.
the claim is a 'couple' claim. for him AND for you.

so you do receive benefit.

its like saying your children dont receive child tax credits because the money isnt paid into their accounts in their names!

There really is no point being rude by bolding your text, I have been saying the same, it may not be paid directly into my account but it is claimed!

So that is why I am confused as to why I am being told my status would not be carer?

No idea what you are on about the last bit but I assume it was meant at someone else.

nannytone_2

im not rude... i am registered blind and need to bold to help me see what i am trypiunless you receive carers allowancem you will not be officially recognised as his 'carer'
you will only be recognised as his partner.

does he get middle/high rate care componant of DLA.

you really need to speak to your husband to dibns out what benefits you are/arent getting, to make sure you are receiving your full entitlement

Tigerlilly2013

Morlock wrote: »

Because you are an adult dependent on his claim for ESA, he is receiving the benefits to which you are entitled. The amount he receives would be a lot less if you were not the partner on his claim, that extra amount is your income.

Thank you, I was not aware of this. I was under the impression that the allowance was paid to him and this is what he confirmed, he must have been confused. And you raise an interesting point that I was not aware of.

Thank you I think I need to look into this further. Certainly does raise a few questions and I can see why I will perhaps run into some problems at that interview.

Thank you for all your advice, I always worked before this (edit - before he became to ill to work and needed care) so it's a bit of a whirlwind trying to understand it all.

Morlock

Tigerlilly2013 wrote: »

There really is no point being rude by bolding your text

nannytone always posts in bold because she's blind as a bat.

Tigerlilly2013 wrote: »

So that is why I am confused as to why I am being told my status would not be carer?

I mentioned your status as a carer as you seem to be confused as to which benefits you and your partner are claiming. If you do not claim carers allowance, your official status is not a 'carer', and even though you insist it is paid to your partner, I am still not convinced!

Firstly, you need to be absolutely certain about what it is you are claiming, and then your obligations to the Jobcentre can be confirmed.

Tigerlilly2013

nannytone wrote: »

im not rude... i am registered blind and need to bold to help me see what i am tryping

Apologies, I didn't realise. Sorry

Mara69

Tigerlilly2013 wrote: »

Also I don't see any of this money as it is his claim.

I thought you are a couple?

Tigerlilly2013 wrote: »

Yes they are fully aware I am a university student too, it is a part time university course from home.

Part time courses that are studied at home are designed to be studied around work/caring so you'll not be considered a 'real' student.

Tigerlilly2013

Mara69 wrote: »

I thought you are a couple?

We are a couple but as he is the claimant, the money gets paid to him, and it makes sense as it goes in his account for him to be in charge of the finances and paying all the bills etc.

Maybe I am wording it wrong, I'm not very good with wording things the way I mean them.

The confusion has come in because we were under the impression he was being paid the carers allowance, which seems not to be the case, maybe carers element as mentioned, and as such being a carer I do not have time to be a full time student I could up my hours at uni to achieve a full time status but I should be receiving carers allowance and have no idea how to claim that, I thought the part on the forms that say are you a carer and that said about carers allowance was how they did it, I have never been told I needed to do anything else otherwise. Sometimes people are not automatically aware of what they are entitled to or how to claim, if you don't know you are doing it wrong you don't know it needs to be changed.

Morlock

Tigerlilly2013 wrote: »

Thank you, I was not aware of this. I was under the impression that the allowance was paid to him and this is what he confirmed, he must have been confused. And you raise an interesting point that I was not aware of.

Are you also claiming child tax credit and child benefit? If not, you should be. Unless he his also currently receiving those benefits on top of his ESA and DLA...

I hope he is generous with 'his' allowance, as he could be receiving a substantial amount of cash each week, while you claim to have no income.