Help!! Ex soldier told he's not entitled to benefits. WHATTTT!!!!!!

mardigrasgirl

I'm writing on here in the hope that someone will be able to help or point me in the right direction. My brother in law came out of the army (25 years service) last year and was fortunate to find a job. He has now been paid off and went to his local job centre, who advised he is entitled to nothing as he has his Army pension of £725 per month after tax.

After his mortgage is paid he is left with £50.00. He has to pay maintenance to his son of £17.00 a week. This obviously leaves a defecit.

He has 2 other children who live with their Mum and live fairly close to him. He cannot provide for them financially as he doesn't have any money left for food, electricity, gas, council tax, water, etc etc.

His ex partner gets her rent paid by the government, she doesnt have to pay council tax and receives benefits for her and their children to live on.

I'm really angry about this situation, as he's worked bloomin hard since he left school, fought for his Queen and Country in countless countries and has never had a day off due to sickness in his career. Oh, forgot he broke his ankle when he jumped out of a plane, in the line of duty.

Surely there must be some kind of financial help he is entitled to to help him until he can find another job. He has paid is dues and more putting his life on the line.

I'd appreciate a response and hopefully one which may help him.

Thanks for reading.

pimento

So he has a job or he doesn't? Is his only income £725 pension?

cockaleekee

How much capital does he owe on his mortgage (not including any additional borrowing)? He may be entitled to IB JSA after thirteen weeks if his housing costs are high.

Edit: Also, does he have savings over £16,000?

Own_My_Own

pimento wrote: »

So he has a job or he doesn't? Is his only income £725 pension?

OP said he was laid off and now only has his pension.

pimento

Own_My_Own wrote: »

OP said he was laid off and now only has his pension.

No, she said he was 'paid off'. I thought that might have meant the army had paid him off (made him redundant).

skintandscared_2

I don't mean this flippantly as I have the greatest respect for anyone giving that much of their life to serve their country (my dad served 27 years in the Royal Navy) but surely his reward for that is his £725 a month net pension? That will always be there, on top of whatever wage he can earn too. Despite the fact it doesn't cover his own personal bills, I'm struggling to see how he's been abandoned by the state?

mardigrasgirl

He doesn't have a job, his only income is his army pension of £725 a month. He has no savings and I don't know how much capital he owes on his mortgage.

Own_My_Own

mardigrasgirl wrote: »

I'm writing on here in the hope that someone will be able to help or point me in the right direction. My brother in law came out of the army (25 years service) last year and was fortunate to find a job. He has now been paid off and went to his local job centre, who advised he is entitled to nothing as he has his Army pension of £725 per month after tax.
.

Own_My_Own wrote: »

OP said he was laid off and now only has his pension.

pimento wrote: »

No, she said he was 'paid off'. I thought that might have meant the army had paid him off (made him redundant).

OP clearly states her brother-in-law left the army and got a different job, then was made redundant.

patman99

I'm surprised he has no entitlement to contribution-based JSA. Mind you, the DWP do count certain benefits as deductible against benefits. I'm in the same boat myself (although in my case, it is IIB that reduces my benefits when I claim).
Has he put his details into 'Entitledto' to see if he can get anything else ?.
Of course, if he received a pay-out from the Armed forces, then this may also contribute to the cut-off of benefits.

Can he not simply stop paying child maintainence ?. After all, even the Govt. can't make him pay what he doesn't have.

Just a thought, what about renting-out a room to a lodger ?, or renting space on his drive ?.

Personally, I think it is disgusting that our service men and women put their lives on the line every day, yet get treated like second-class citizens when they need any help.

But then again, I am an active member of the Englis Democrats & we all think our service personnel need to be treated better than they are.

ohreally

http://www.citizensadvicedirect.org.uk/news/telephone-advice-now-available-to-armed-services-veterans.aspx

cockaleekee

mardigrasgirl wrote: »

He doesn't have a job, his only income is his army pension of £725 a month. He has no savings and I don't know how much capital he owes on his mortgage.

It is not possible to give a more definitive answer without figures, but if he is eligible for help with mortgage interest, he needs to sign on for credits only for thirteen weeks, at which point he can make a claim for income based JSA (including housing costs).

patman99 wrote: »

Personally, I think it is disgusting that our service men and women put their lives on the line every day, yet get treated like second-class citizens when they need any help.

Hardly a second class citizen - his income is nearly double that of other unemployed people.