ESA as a couple entitlement

zarozinia_2

I am considering letting my partner move in with me, it would make life much easier for us as I have M.E and my health has declined so much in the last 6 months that I barely manage to leave my home once a week or fortnight, sometimes cannot dry myself or my hair following a bath and often cannot make a home cooked meal ( I hate ready meals)
I currently get ESA £125 a week I think this includes some disability premium, but Im not sure ( Ive never been on benefits in my life until 2 years ago so know little about them, having worked as a senior nurse all my adult life until getting M.E 9 years ago, even then I found alternative work part time for as long as I could manage)

My partner gets esa too, he gets £102, he is recieving treatment for an illness which we hope he will recover from so he can resume his normal life. He currently helps me with meals and housework some days when my daughter isnt around to help on the days I cannot manage.

We would like to move in together but we have had 3 different results from calculating benefits and one of them would mean we could barely afford to feed ourselves and pay the monthly bills. I dont know which result to trust. Ive used Entitledto and Turntous, they both work it out that we get the same, but elsewhere has stated we would only get £159 between us, and I would have to pay more housing benefit and more council tax. This would leave two of us on pretty much what I get each week. How can they expect two people to live on the money they give one person normally?

Is there anyone with a knowledge of this? Do we need to claim as a couple if he moves in?

I have applied for PIP but was given zero points, I was astounded - Ive gone from being a super fit full time nurse who cycled to work every day and climbed mountains and landscaped gardens on days off to someone who often needs help with housework, personal grooming and preparing and making meals. My problem is that I was honest, on rare good days I can walk a mile if Im very lucky, but boy will I suffer for days or weeks afterwards, being unable to do things, in extreme pain, unable to even put my rubbish out as I cannot climb the 2 flights of stairs to get back in some days. How can I get zero points? Pip would have allowed me to pay someone to do housework and to pay for a taxi on the rare occassions I can get out. Sorry for the rant, Im so frustrated.

Torry_Quine

Is the ESA you or he get income or contribution based. If you both get contribution based then you will both continue to get your own ESA. If one or both of you are on income based then it needs to be a joint claim. If either of you get single person discount for council tax that will end but you may still be able to get housing and council tax help.

Are you appealling the PIP decision?

NeilCr

Think I'd go to your local CAB or advice centre. There are quite a lot of possibilities here and talking them through face to face would be helpful

zarozinia_2

Thanks. Mine is contribution based. He will check his letters at his home to find out what his is as he cant remember. May I ask where I can find this information?

I did appeal PIP, they gave 0 points twice. I could have gone to a tribunal but was so low I didnt have the mental energy to fight. But I want to try again with support to help me through it as I am stil very low and barely functioning.

zarozinia_2

I have great difficulty getting out, a trip to the CAB would cost me nearly £20 in taxis which I really cannot afford

xylophone

You mention that you were a nurse for a number of years so presumably were in the NHS Pension Scheme?

Are you able to access your pension early on grounds of ill health?

zarozinia_2

Hi, I never thought of my pension scheme. I had no idea you could do such a thing. I was not always in the NHS, I also worked in nursing homes. I was with the NHS for around 10 years all together. Why would I want to access my pension now? I am hopeful that sometime I will be well enough to work again and keep contributing to my pension

NeilCr

zarozinia wrote: »

I have great difficulty getting out, a trip to the CAB would cost me nearly £20 in taxis which I really cannot afford

Some CABs offer phone/email advice and/or home visits (depending on circumstances). In addition, they could be aware of other organisations in the area who may be able to assist. Worth seeing if you can get in contact with them

TELLIT01

There are so many variables involved that it's close to impossible to give definitive advice without a lot more information. I understand what you are saying about the cost of getting to CAB but the potential financial implications are far greater than the £20 taxi fair. You really do need to get direct, one-to-one advice.

zarozinia_2

Tellit01, what sort of info do you need?

TELLIT01

zarozinia wrote: »

Tellit01, what sort of info do you need?

It's not what I need, it's information people like Citizens Advice will need to give you accurate information. Things like any other benefits you or your partner are receiving, savings / capital, pensions which you could claim, these are just those which come to mind immediately. I raise the issue of pensions because DWP can take potential pension into account as 'notional income' and take it off Income Related benefit. I fully understand you not wanting to claim a pension now but DWP see things differently.
The system can seem horribly unfair at times, and seem to be heavily weighted against those who have paid into it all their working life. As an example, my brother ended up in a situation where his income (because of notional income from pension) was literally less than £2 per week over the upper limit for assistance. He got no help with rent, council tax etc. His next door neighbour got everything paid so was several hundred pounds per month better off than my brother.