Advice on claiming benefits

stuomac88

Hi there

I work full time and am on a fairly low salary.

My partner suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder and was on long term sick from work from December last year until earlier this month (earning ssp only).

She made a claim for esa when her ssp ran out and was dismissed shortly after due to sickness record. However it's been nearly a month and she has heard absolutely nothing regarding esa and not received a penny.

Due to her condition she finds it very difficult to hold down a job as the majority of the time she feels unable to leave home. She also struggles to speak to people over the phone which is why she hasn't chased up regarding her esa claim(they won't discuss anything with me).

I also have a form to claim working tax credits but it seems to be assessed based on the last tax year (when we would have exceeded income limits when this year we will be living on my salary plus any benefits my partner receives which will be considerably less). So I'm not quite sure where I stand with this...

Finally my partner has applied to college for a part time course to try and get her out of the house and improve her mental wellbeing. She was told she could apply for a grant but this is assessed also against household income and we face the same issue as with the tax credits(based on last tax year apposed to current financial situation).

If anyone has any advice or info that could help us I would really appreciate it.

Many thanks in advance for reading my post.

Best wishes
Stuart(first time poster)

pmlindyloo

First of all the ESA.

It is important that you follow this up. You should be able to enquire about the claim on behalf of your partner is she gives you permission to speak to them and answers some simple security questions (date of birth, NI number etc.) If they still refuse to speak to you then go to CAB with your partner and ask them to make the phone call.

How long has your wife been working? As you are working full time then she will not be eligible for income based ESA (based on joint income and savings) so she will have to try and claim contribution based ESA. This means she will have had to have paid the correct NI contributions for the last two tax years. Was she working part time or full time?

As regards working tax credits then I will let someone more knowledgeable in this area answer your question. They will want to know your earnings for last tax year and your partner's, and earnings for this year. Do you have any children?

You can put your details into the benefit calculator on https://www.entitledto.co.uk for an estimation of what you are eligible for.

As regards the part time studying what course is your partner interested in?

Would she be able to do some volunteering of some description if she cannot get any funding?

Please come back if you have any further questions.

Ames

She should also apply for PIP, it's not means tested so if she qualifies she'd get it regardless of NI contributions or your income. It can appear as though it doesn't apply to mental health problems, but it does. CAB can help her with the forms.

stuomac88

Hi both

Thanks for your replies.

She has worked full time at different periods over the last two years but has also had periods out of work.

She has been accepted onto a part time college course in animal care with the theory that this would lead to her being able to ultimately get back into work some form of work.

I have put details into entitled to and it comes up with no tax credit award based on last tax year but some award of based on current circumstances which is confusing.

She has requested a form for pip but is still waiting and was hoping to have received the esa in the interim(it was her employer who gave her a form to transfer to esa initially before she was dismissed).

I will have to try and get her to make the call or at least speak to them during a call I make.

I'm guessing then that we should have heard by now, or can it take this long to hear anyway?

Many thanks again
Stuart

TELLIT01

She should certainly have heard something about her claim by now. You need to chase it up a.s.a.p.

sheramber

Tax credits are calculate on last year's income first of all so that is what the form asks for. Once submitted you will receive an award showing nothing payable. You then phone them and give them an estimate of your total income for the current year.

A new award will be calculated based on the new figure supplied. £2500 of any drop in income is ignored so any new reward will depend on what last year's income was and what the current year estimate is. After the end of the year you will be asked to confirm your actual income for the current year to finalise your claim.

Alice_Holt

Re: The PIP form.

I would recommend getting help with completing the form.

i.e CAB / MIND

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/help-with-your-pip-claim/fill-in-form/
http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/