benefit for a widow

emmsie123

https://www.gov.uk/widowed-parents-allowance/eligibility
Worth far more than esa or jsa and can get till youngest stops getting cb.

londonTiger

emmsie123 wrote: »

https://www.gov.uk/widowed-parents-allowance/eligibility
Worth far more than esa or jsa and can get till youngest stops getting cb.

We will apply for this, however I think the child tax credits, child benefit (old system), housing benefit and wpa exceeds benefit cap. Also I spoke to a benefits officer who said wpa is not a source of income that makes you eeligible for housing benefit. It can only be claimed by esa, jsa, income support and proof of low income such as payslips or self employment income

Darksparkle

londonTiger wrote: »

We will apply for this, however I think the child tax credits, child benefit (old system), housing benefit and wpa exceeds benefit cap. Also I spoke to a benefits officer who said wpa is not a source of income that makes you eeligible for housing benefit. It can only be claimed by esa, jsa, income support and proof of low income such as payslips or self employment income

Surely being on WPA and no other income or benefits (for herself) would be proof of low income?

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong but the benefit cap from April should be £20,000 so £1667 per month. Would this not be enough?

If she was to work 16hrs per week then the benefit cap wouldn't apply. I know that will be a bit of time away but still something to consider.

londonTiger

Darksparkle wrote: »

Surely being on WPA and no other income or benefits (for herself) would be proof of low income?

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong but the benefit cap from April should be £20,000 so £1667 per month. Would this not be enough?

If she was to work 16hrs per week then the benefit cap wouldn't apply. I know that will be a bit of time away but still something to consider.

I spoke to someone who works as a housing benefit officer and they told me they do not accept wpa as a viable income source

emmsie123

I dont see how it cant be a viable income source, whatever he means by that.
Housing benefits is assessed on total income, wherever it comes from.
If shes in private she'll most likely have to pay a top up anyway.

londonTiger

emmsie123 wrote: »

I dont see how it cant be a viable income source, whatever he means by that.
Housing benefits is assessed on total income, wherever it comes from.
If shes in private she'll most likely have to pay a top up anyway.

They are box tickers, they have a list of items that qualify for housing benefit and wpa isn't one of them. But proof of income is and there's no reason why someone can't do a basic volunteering job that pays their expenses through PAYE and claim that as "work", the benefit cap is so low that the JSA money isn't worth claiming.

londonTiger

londonTiger wrote: »

They are box tickers, they have a list of items that qualify for housing benefit and wpa isn't one of them. But proof of income is and there's no reason why someone can't do a basic volunteering job that pays their expenses through PAYE and claim that as "work", the benefit cap is so low that the JSA money isn't worth claiming.

I suppose WPA is seen as compensation not an income, likewise is child tax credit which is seen as money for the children, not the parent.

emmsie123

Child tax credits is classed as income for HB though.
He might mean its not automatic like income based benefits are.
When you claim income based the claim is put through with no checks.
It would just mean it would be assessed on all her income.
The benefit cap is reduced through hb anyway.
I'm not explaining it very well.

Ian011

pmlindyloo wrote: »

If your sister in law rings the DWP Bereavement Services on 0845 606 0265 they will help sort out the benefits.

DWP introduced cheaper 0345 numbers in March 2014. In most cases replace 084 with 034 to find the new number.

084, 087 and 09 numbers are premium rate with an additional Service Charge.

03 numbers are inclusive on landlines and mobiles, else charged at 'geographic rate' - same as 01 and 02 numbers.

In the case of this particular 0845 number, if you call it from a BT landline, you'll hear this announcement:
"You have dialled a number beginning 08. Please re-dial the same number but replace the leading 08 with 03. BT has not charged you for this call."
A similar announcement will be heard for calls made from other landline and mobile providers.

In general, public services no longer use 084 or 087 numbers. If you find any such number listed on a third-party website the information is very likely to be out of date or some sort of scam.

missbiggles1

nannytone wrote: »

if she is taking the bereavement badly ( and who wouldn't) then ESA is a viable alternative in the short term...
or do you think she should be ready to work within days?

Bereavement isn't an illness and it's an insult to try to medicalise it in this way.

(And, before you put your foot in it even more, my husband died in October, so I'm speaking from experience.)