I have just lost my job and for the first time im on benefits but this doesnt cover m

lazer

Debt Free wannabe forum

I hope you get sorted out

Are you getting all the benefits you are entitled to?
As a single mum with 2 children I would expect that you get somewhere around £150 - £200 a week (plus council tax) but check it out on entitledto.com

holly_hobby

Yes, please do ensure you effect some life assurance (place in trust if necessary), and also a will, which includes direction on whom you wish to take care of your children if you pass whilst they are still dependants. Your solicitor will guide.

Bereavement/widows benefit guide -http://www.dwp.gov.uk/international/benefits/bereavement-benefits-and-widows/

DWP benefit guide site - https://www.gov.uk/benefits-adviser

Hope this helps

Holly x

danielanthony

You have two kids, you will be rolling in cash from the state. Off the top of my head you will be entitled to:

Housing benefit / support for mortgage interest
Child Benefit
Child Tax Credits
Income Support / JSA
Council Tax Benefit
Free Prescriptions
Free School Meals

You'll probably be better off now than you were working, so please don't worry. There's a benefits board on here which will help you claim everything you're entitled to.

dotdash79

Did you not get a finial payment from work? Have they gone bust?

exarmydreamer

'It's just £89 a week but it was a lifeline after my husband died': Widows left abandoned by snatch of vital benefit
By RUTH LYTHE
PUBLISHED: 01:03, 26 June 2013 | UPDATED: 09:57, 26 June 2013
7 shares 18 View
comments
Nothing had prepared Vicky Anning for the heart-breaking task of telling her two-year-old daughter Jenna that Daddy had died.
At the age of 39, Ben, who had been fighting cancer for 12 months, passed away in 2006.
As Ms Anning mourned, and prepared for life raising Jenna alone, she barely had time to think about money.

Ms Anning, at their home in Cambridge, said the payments were a 'lifeline' for her family
However, even though she continued to work as a writer and editor, the loss of the salary her husband brought in as a charity director began to bite.
Things would have been desperate had it not been for a little-known payment from the Government called Widowed Parent’s Allowance.
The £2,000 one-off lump sum and the £89 a week she gets has allowed her to keep on top of bills and take time off when Jenna, now eight, needed it most. It’s been a godsend.
But from 2016, these vital payments are to be slashed for families who lose a parent after this date.

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They’ll get a bigger lump sum of £5,000. But the regular payments will be stopped after a year. It’s a move which could force people to return to work or push them into debt just as their family is getting back on its feet.
Ms Anning, from Cambridge, says: ‘The allowance had been an absolute lifeline for me. It does not replace Ben’s income, but it has meant I could afford the mortgage, allowing us to avoid having to move home.
‘Even though Jenna was a baby when she lost her father, she is still going through different stages of grief as she grows up and sometimes gets upset when she remembers she doesn’t have a dad.
‘The extra support means I’m more likely to be around when she needs me. For a family in our position, not to have that security would be an enormous loss.’

Happier times: Jenna as a baby with her father Ben
Widowed Parent’s Allowance is to be cut back as part of changes to the pension system.
Currently, widows and widowers with children can claim up to £108.30 a week. What each family gets depends on the deceased person’s National Insurance record. On top of this they get a one-off tax-free lump sum of £2,000, called a Bereavement Payment.
The weekly payouts, which are taxable, continue until the youngest child finishes full-time education at either 16 or 19.
But from 2016 the Government wants to limit payments to £400 a month for 12 months only and is finalising its plans. Those already claiming will not be affected.
The tax-free lump-sum will rise to £5,000. But the average family, which receives £107 a week now, will lose £764 over a year in regular payments. Those with younger children will be deprived of tens of thousands over the course of their education.
Ministers claim the Government needs to reform the allowance because single parents can become dependent on it and have their prospects of finding a job hindered.
They also say some parents could be put off marrying again because it would mean they would no longer qualify for the allowance.
The Childhood Bereavement Network charity estimates 94 per cent of widowed working parents will be worse off under the new system.
The changes will affect only those who start to claim the benefit from 2016. The 43,500 families already in receipt of the allowance are unaffected by the reforms.
Working parents with young children will be hardest hit. Under the old system they would have been eligible to claim the allowance for up to 19 years, but under the new plan they would get cash for just 12 months. And unlike unemployed parents they will not be able to top up their income with other benefits.


Analysis by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) shows a family with a working parent who claimed Widowed Parent’s Allowance for 11 years would be £5,100 a year worse off a year under the new system. An unemployed parent would be £4,100 poorer.
Because of the higher one-off payment both working and unemployed single parents would be better off in the first year after the death of a partner with the new system. But in the second year (when payments will cease under the changes), an unemployed single parent would lose £2,400 and a working parent £3,800.
A further study by the DWP reveals that in 2016 the Government expects to pay £550 million a year to bereaved couples and families. However, because of the changes, payouts would drop to £490 million three years later.
All parents who are entitled to Child Benefit and who have lost a husband, wife or civil partner can receive Widowed Parent’s Allowance. It stops only when a parent remarries or if they stop receiving Child Benefit.
In other changes, Ministers are proposing that childless adults under the age of 45 who lose their husband wife or civil partner will be entitled to payments of £150 a month for a year. They will also be able to receive a one-off lump sum of £2,500.
Currently only those aged over 45 and below state pension age can receive this money, known as Bereavement Allowance.

Analysis shows family's like Ms Anning's, where one parent dies, will be up to £5,100 a year worse off under the new system being introduced from 2016
Di Stubbs, spokesman for the Childhood Bereavement Network, says: ‘Young children who have suffered the devastating loss of their mum or dad are the wrong target for Government cuts.
‘These families are not benefits scroungers. The majority of the surviving parents work and have paid into the system for many years before losing their partners.
‘Often children will only start to be affected by a death two or even three years after the event. At that point, the living parent needs to be emotionally available so they can help their child when they most need it, and not working three jobs or long hours.’
A spokesman for Department of Work and Pensions says: ‘Bereavement benefits are an important part of welfare protection, providing support for families through the very difficult times of life.
‘But the current system is overly complex and out-dated.’
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Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/pensions/article-2348299/Widows-left-abandoned-snatch-vital-benefit.html#ixzz2XKGKAipL
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In today's Daily Mail, and I thought of your post. I hope this help's. Best wishes to you.

bossymoo

But please don't read the comments from the DM readers below the article. Some are pure venom.

When you registered your husbands death, you should have been given an information pack about the "tell us once" system? Assuming you were legally married and your husband had paid significant NICs then you should get Widowed Parents Allowance whilst you are still single and in receipt of child benefit.

It is a taxable benefit and as such will be counted as income for tax credit purposes, and also some other means tested (you may not be eligible for income support as well, for example) benefits.

I'm sorry for the loss of your husband, its a tough time, more so when children are involved.

exarmydreamer

bossymoo wrote: »

But please don't read the comments from the DM readers below the article. Some are pure venom.

When you registered your husbands death, you should have been given an information pack about the "tell us once" system? Assuming you were legally married and your husband had paid significant NICs then you should get Widowed Parents Allowance whilst you are still single and in receipt of child benefit.

It is a taxable benefit and as such will be counted as income for tax credit purposes, and also some other means tested (you may not be eligible for income support as well, for example) benefits.

I'm sorry for the loss of your husband, its a tough time, more so when children are involved.

Thanks BossyMoo, I don't normally read the mail but briefly saw it and thought of OP struggling. Hugs to you, OP and agreed with BossyMoo, ignore rude/ignorant comments.:)

OP2011

Lots of cheap recipes here you could try.

Hope things improve for you.

http://agirlcalledjack.com/category/below-the-line-budget-recipes/

theoretica

Until this is sorted you need to prioritise your bills - with food first. This will probably mean cancelling direct debits from your bank so that less important outgoings cannot clear your account.

theoretica

You might also ask around local churches, mosques etc. Especially in the larger cities there is likely to be a religious food bank of some denomination.