working on income support and carers allowance

fatbelly

My friend is disabled (in his mid-50s) and gets DLA at high rate mobility, med rate care. His wife (same age) gets carer’s allowance for him. Their council tax and rent are covered by CTB and HB. Their income support is about £100 per week.

She has been offered work as a sort of job share, as many hours as she wants up to about 15. She asked me how many hours work would fit best with her benefits.

As I understand it her earnings disregard is £20, so at say £8 per hour, the first two and a half hours are OK, then for every £8 she earns after that she loses £8 of income support… until she gets to 10 hours =£80. At this point, £80 means that she is gainfully employed and loses carers allowance and carers premium on her IS. So then she loses £25 a week, which wipes out the £20 she made on the first two and a half hours! A net loss of £5.

Am I missing something here? My figures are not the latest, which is why I’ve rounded them. Any creative ideas on how she could work (which she really wants to do) and actually make a net gain.

Or is our benefits system really as stupid as it seems?

Fran

Are you saying that she is actually receiving Carer's Allowance or just that she is eligible (but doesn't receive it) which gives her the Carer's Premium on Income Support?

I think she really needs to go to a Citizens Advice Bureau or similar. They can do a "Better Off Calculation" so she can do a before and after and see exactly where she stands.

As she is over 50 she can claim Working Tax Credit if she works over 16 hours but you only mentioned up to 15, so unless she could find the extra hour she wouldn't get that either. Citizens Advice Website - Adviceguide.

fatbelly

Thanks, I hadn’t realised that you could get WTC for 16 hours per week – thought it had to be 30. So that might be a possibility but whether it gets her any net gain…I’ll get her to check with the CAB tomorrow.

And you’re right – apparently it’s an underlying entitlement to Carer’s Allowance.

Fran

fatbelly wrote:

Thanks, I hadn’t realised that you could get WTC for 16 hours per week – thought it had to be 30. So that might be a possibility but whether it gets her any net gain…I’ll get her to check with the CAB tomorrow.

And you’re right – apparently it’s an underlying entitlement to Carer’s Allowance.

It is only 16 hours because of the WTC for over 50's. If she is going to ask CAB for calculations, she could do one at 15 hours and one at 16 to see how that works out (and one with no work).