Carers Allowance but if you work...?

star2sparkle

Can anyone please confirm for me...carers are made aware that they can earn up to £100 and it not affect their carers allowance, which sounds lovely. But if they receive housing benefit, won't whatever they earn just get taken away and they have to put their wages towards the rent? Perhaps apart from about £20 like IS rules?
I find it very infuriating that people aren't made aware of this. I even tried ringing the carers assessment number and they know nothing about this, only about carers allowance which you could write on the back of a postage stamp!

sammyjammy

Oh no people paying their rent with their wages ,whatever next!

Why would you expect a Carers Allowance person to know about Housing Benefit? Perhaps its excluded? Why are you getting so cross if you don't even know?

Dunroamin

Why should anyone think that they would be able to keep all the money that they earn and claim benefits as well?

star2sparkle

Well judging by the two obnoxious replies, they don't know either! And don't know what it is like to care for someone full time, no doubt! Why bother answering to be like that? Go and work rather than wasting your time being unpleasant! Of course I don't think that someone should keep all their benefits and work! But I am a carer not a flamin scrounger! And what gets me is that the carers allowance people make it seem to people caring that they CAN earn £100 and keep their benefits. Try looking it up yourself. They just omit to say about other benefits and I can't help but feel this is partly a government ploy to make the figures look good...again. I'm prepared to work and earn nothing actually...and I do actually do this but would love to do more.

star2sparkle

Sammy, many benefits people don't do their job properly and should know that kind of information! They should know from a carer's point of view how working would affect them...that is their job. You wouldn't expect a fireman to put out fires in houses but not flats would you?! Do you actually know what it is like a to be a full time carer before you judge?! Obviously not. Your type of ignorant reply makes me cross to be honest. Go away if you can't be constructive in a decent way.

Dunroamin

star2sparkle wrote: »

Well judging by the two obnoxious replies, they don't know either! And don't know what it is like to care for someone full time, no doubt! Why bother answering to be like that? Go and work rather than wasting your time being unpleasant! Of course I don't think that someone should keep all their benefits and work! But I am a carer not a flamin scrounger! And what gets me is that the carers allowance people make it seem to people caring that they CAN earn £100 and keep their benefits. Try looking it up yourself. They just omit to say about other benefits and I can't help but feel this is partly a government ploy to make the figures look good...again. I'm prepared to work and earn nothing actually...and I do actually do this but would love to do more.

But you can keep your CA and earn up to £100 per week which is what the information says, I can't see why you would assume that this applies to all other benefits as well as they're means tested, which CA isn't.

And FYI I am a carer for my husband and worked full time until quite recently - don't make so many assumptions about either benefits or people!

star2sparkle

An awful lot of people do assume that, actually, Dumroamin. Not everyone is like you and me. And when people are unpleasant on a forum, assumptions are made. I don't understand why people can't be polite, especially on a forum. Why answer if what you are going to say is judgmental?

star2sparkle

The reality of caring is found within this quote:
According to the national charity Carers UK ‘ Six million people in the UK are caring right now but whilst caring is part and parcel of life, without the right support the personal costs of caring can be high.’ Caring can take its toll on your finances, your health, your career, your family and your social life. Carers can fall out of paid work and many rely on low-level benefits, forcing them into poverty.

Dunroamin

I was neither unpleasant nor judgemental. You, on the other hand, assumed that your earnings wouldn't affect means tested benefits, that someone offering advice on being a carer would know about benefit entitlements and that someone who disagreed with you couldn't possibly be a carer.

I think that you should look closer to home.

aliasojo

I'm a carer. I wouldn't have expected the carer's allowance dept to know the ins and out of housing benefit tbh.

Sorry OP, I know first hand how frustrating it can be sometimes trying to find accurate info, but I think you're being a wee bit unfair expecting the carer's dept to know the info you need.

Alter_ego

star2sparkle wrote: »

Well judging by the two obnoxious replies,

Obnoxious or just not what you wanted to hear?