Benefit Cap

dippy3103

lukieboy96 wrote: »

No it is not. I am a worrier and she knows that I try to understand benefits a bit more. She had told other people she thought it was just housing benefit. I was not expecting her to know. They are as confused as anyone else. She is with CRI. I would never expect her to know about it. We talk about things and benefits.

I'm sure she means well but she needs to check things before she says things. Giving someone wrong advice can land them in a whole heap of trouble!

lukieboy96

I know that as I said I wasn't sure and she said she will check it out. She knows that I am not an expert and she didn't want to tell people the wrong thing.

dippy3103

lukieboy96 wrote: »

I know that as I said I wasn't sure and she said she will check it out. She knows that I am not an expert and she didn't want to tell people the wrong thing.

Always good to see when advisers will say "I will find out" rather than give wrong information

cattermole

Sorry but I would expect a worker in such a situation to have a basic knowledge of benefits!! As it would affect a lot of her clients!! One way or another!!

Is this what we are paying people for as "keyworkers"?!!

It's really a quick google to find out the basics and she should know them working with a vulnerable group you need to know the basics as a "keyworker".

rattle

Which benefits are capped?
You will have a cap on your combined income from the following benefits:
· bereavement allowance
· carer’s allowance
· child benefit
· child tax credit
· employment and support allowance except where the support component has been awarded
· guardian’s allowance
· housing benefit
· incapacity benefit
· income support
· jobseeker’s allowance
· maternity allowance
· severe disablement allowance
· widowed mother's allowance
· widowed parent’s allowance
· widow’s pension
There is a 'grace period' of 39 weeks, when you will not be capped, if you (or your partner) have been doing paid work for a period of 50 weeks out of 52 weeks before claiming the above benefits. You must not have been entitled to employment and support allowance, jobseeker’s allowance or income support during this time.
The grace period starts from the day after you finished working and can include periods of work before the cap is introduced in April 2013. For example if you finish work at the end of January 2013 your 39 weeks starts from February 2013.
When universal credit is introduced, the grace period will apply if you (or you and your partner) were working for a year and your combined gross earnings for each month were £430. For more information see Factsheet F55 - universal credit.


Benefits not included in the cap
The following benefits are not included in the cap:
· armed forces independence payment
· bereavement payment (the new bereavement support payment will also be disregarded)
· cold weather payments
· council tax benefit or the replacement localised support for council tax
· discretionary housing payments
· free school meals
· funeral payments
· retirement pension
· social fund payments which are being replaced by local authority discretionary payments (community care grants and crisis loans)
· state pension credit
· statutory adoption pay
· statutory maternity pay
· statutory paternity pay
· statutory sick pay
· sure start maternity grants
· working tax credit


Exemptions from the cap
You are exempt from the cap if you or anyone in your household (a partner or dependent child) is getting:
· attendance allowance
· disability living allowance
· housing benefit - if you are living in supported accommodation (referred to as ‘exempt’ accommodation in current housing benefit legislation)
· industrial injuries benefits
· personal independence payment
· war disablement pension/armed forces compensation scheme payments (that are equivalent to industrial injuries benefits)
· war widow's or war widower pension
You are also exempt from the cap if you or your partner is getting:
· employment and support allowance support component - When universal credit is introduced you will be exempt from the benefit cap if you get the limited capability for work and work related activity element.
· working tax credit even if you have been awarded a “nil entitlement” - you must be working the relevant number of hours according to your circumstances When universal credit is introduced you will be exempt from the benefit cap if you (or you and your partner’s) gross monthly earnings are equivalent to 16 hours a week at the National Minimum Wage.

northerntwo1

People do get mixed up with the word cap.

There's a LHA cap and a benefits Cap.

MissMoneypenny

northerntwo1 wrote: »

People do get mixed up with the word cap.

There's a LHA cap and a benefits Cap.

And now (at long last) an annual welfare bill cap.

northerntwo1

MissMoneypenny wrote: »

And now an annual welfare bill cap.

Too many caps not enough heads!

I admit I am a keyworker. I'm expected to help people at times with benefits help (it's all part of well being) but have had no training.

I often find out the answer on here quicker than the formal route. I find it all very confusing.

MissMoneypenny

northerntwo1 wrote: »

Too many caps not enough heads!

If you want to get ahead, get a cap.:)

Morglin

Due to so many working people now having to claim benefits, the welfare bill is rising faster than ever, caps or not :

"The number of people in work and claiming housing benefit has rocketed by 59 per cent since the Coalition came to power and will cost taxpayers an extra £5 billion by next year’s general election.

The figures, compiled by the House of Commons Library, highlight the growth of “in-work poverty” in recent years while wages fell in real terms and rents continued to rise.

They also undermine claims by some Conservatives that benefit claimants are “skivers” because many people qualify for state help even though they are in jobs.

The number of housing benefit claimants in work rose from 650,561 in May 2010 to 1.03 million by the end of last year.

The Commons Library estimates the cost of the extra claims at £4.8 billion by May 2015.

In England, the number of in-work claimants has increased from 586,181 to 936,964 since 2010.
In Scotland, the number jumped from 40,447 to 61,856 over the same period and in Wales from 23,923 to 38,003.

The Library calculated the amount spent on in-work housing benefit will rise from £3.4 billion in the 2010-11 financial year to £5.1 billion in 2014-15, making a total of £21.9 billion over the five-year parliament ending at next year’s election".

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/exclusive-socalled-inwork-poverty-soars-by-59-under-coalition-as-more-people-with-jobs-are-forced-to-claim-housing-benefit-9340907.html

(Thanks to Benefit and Work forum for above)

Lin :whistle: