Can anyone help with benefit advise please?

Poppie68

ragdoll24 wrote: »

Poppie 68 I have been on ESA for nearly a year now and still have not been accessed to go on the higher rate as they are so behind with their assessments.
I left my childrens dad due to domestic violence and he swore to me I would not get a penny in CSA. He was working for a company at the time and CSA took 2yrs to get a deductions of earnings order so for the first 2yrs I received nothing then I received £300 for 6mths, then he left his job and started doing cash in hand jobs so for the past year I have received nothing from him. I had a breakdown last year because of all the domestic violence I suffered and have been very ill and struggling financially as although I appreciate and get a lot of help from benefits, because I cant get a council house and I am in a small rented terraced house the housing benefit does not cover my full rent so I still have to find nearly £200 a month towards my rent, my children and I are left to live on £100 a week for food, clothes etc which I have managed on but is very very hard. Looking at benefit calculators if my partner moved in with me I would loose all the financial help I get and all his salary would end up paying rent and bills and I think he would begrudge that as he has a daughter he is helping through uni and pays her £300 a month and I cant expect him to stop supporting his daughter to help raise my children.
Looks like I will have to remain living on my own.

Sorry i don't know the answer but hopefully sometime in the not so far future you will feel well and able enough to go back to work and you can then have a rethink on your living situation..

LUCKYAMB

Hi
The best advice on here is to go onto an online calculator. The best one to use in your situation is the one on the gov.uk site/benefits advisers. If you type it into google it will come up.
This calculator allows you compare your current income/benefits, with a future situation in terms of benefits. This will then tell you "you will be better off/worse off/same comparison".
Do your current situation first, then at the end of that it gives you the option to input a future situation/change.

Hope that helped.

FBaby

I understand totally how your partner feels and don't blame him, especially at his age. It doesn't mean that he doesn't love you, but the pressure of supporting someone fully when in essence, you've already been there can be quite overwhelming and could very much affect your relationship. As for you, do you really want to go back into a relationship when you are fully dependent on a man?

It sounds to me that the best thing to do is to concentrate on getting better and settled back at work so you can then arrange moving together. It could be an incentive to get better and make it work.

HB58

Poppie68 wrote: »

Also look at the ESA support group descriptors...if you get put into the SG your money is increased by approx £30 a week and is not income based.

That is not necessarily true. If the OP was entitled to contributary ESA, NI contributions made whilst employed in the past 2 full tax years, then that might be the case. if the OP has always been in income-related ESA as not enough NI contributions made, then she will continue on income-related, even if put into the Support Group.