Recently Disabled and needing advice

winnac01

Hi folks, my name is Chris, 4 months ago at the age of 43 I had a hemorrhagic stroke whilst at work. As a result of the stroke I have been left with left sided paralysis, meaning I am unable to walk or move my left arm or hand and have lost all sense of balance amongst other issues associated with a stroke. The point of what I am saying is that I am no longer able to work. I am currently receiving SSP from my employer, I have applied for PIP after waiting the mandatory 12 weeks on the advice from my OT I am told that I am unable to claim anything else until my SSP ends at 28 weeks or until my PIP claim comes through (if I get anything) my physios are confident that I should receive the higher rate as they have described my stroke as quite severe and it will be a long road to recovery. We are unable to claim carers allowance as my wife is in full time employment, we get nothing in tax credits as prior to this our combined wages were pretty substantial, we are in the process of applying again but fear we will not get anything as it will go off the last tax years wages. What little savings we had have been eaten away due to the lack of income over the last 4 months. What I am asking is have we missed anything out that we could claim as having a mortgage to pay and 2 teenage kids to care for living off one wage and SSP is just not cutting it. Myself and my wife have worked all of our lives and paid into the system, and now just feel like we have been drained waiting the 3 month period to put the application in for PIP. Its bad enough losing my ability to walk, my independence and possibly my family home. Surely there is more help out there that I have missed.
Thanks in advance, even the smallest bit of advice would be greatly appreciated.
Kind regards
Chris

cantcope

Hi Chris,

Sorry to hear about your situation. I cant help on the benefits side but you may be able to change your mortgage to interest only or at least ask for a mortgage holiday to ease some pressure for now?

I'd also give tax credits a call so that they know your situation and income have changed dramatically as you may be entitled to something now.

Good luck x

winnac01

i am unable to work im wheelchair bound and have only the use of one arm i need help going to the toilet and need 3 hours sleep during the day. if i was able to work i would.

pmlindyloo

The first thing you need to do is speak to your mortgage lender and explain the situation. Under these circumstances they may allow a payment holiday until you get your benefits sorted out and see how your future finances work out. This will give you some breathing space.

I also agree that you should telephone tax credits and explain the situation as they can assess you on this year's tax year under certain circumstances when your income has dropped.

Are you having carers come in to help? You can ring social services and ask for an adult assessment to see what help you are eligible for.

Once you are awarded PIP then your finances will be a little healthier and you can perhaps go to CAB for a benefits check up to see how you can maximise your income. You can ask them for a better off calculation with your claiming different benefits based on your PIP award.

Obviously the mortgage is probably the most immediate problem so get this sorted out asap.

Have you googled the Stroke Association? They may have advisers who can help and support you.

Have you checked whether you have critical illness cover? (Some people forget that they have it!)

Have you spoken to work? Do they have any kind of ill health pension in place?

Good luck with it all.

poppy12345

maninasuit wrote: »

ESA is for those unable to do any work. You will be able to claim contribution based ESA which is not that much higher than SSP.
You could claim a top up from Income based ESA but your household income has to be extremely low to qualify.

You can't claim ESA while claiming SSP.

kpwll

Just a thought, but do you have any sort of mortgage or critical illness insurance that could pay the mortgage when you can't work?


Good luck with it all.

McKneff

I took it that he meant instead of and not in addition to , to be fair .

bigbulldog

Maninasuit unfortunately does not have a clue on the right advise best of times I'm afraid........do you billy!!!!!!!!!!!

winnac01

Thank you for all your advice we are ringing tax credits and our mortgage provider tomorrow as its my wife's day off. We will just have to keep our belts tight for the time being and wait for my pip claim to come through or my SSP to end whichever comes first , if anything this experience has made us realise how much money we wasted before.

Kind Regards Chris

Alice_Holt

I would second pmlindyloo's suggestion that you get advice from the Stroke Association / local CAB / Carers UK.

Possible other benefits might include Contribution-based ESA (when SSP expires), Carers Allowance (dependant on PIP and your wife's earnings), council tax reduction, Tax Credits, industrial injuries benefit may be worth a look (but will be unlikely unless the stroke was related to work stress).

This may help:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/

Because of the phased introduction of UC (which is less generous than legacy benefits), I think getting accredited advice is important.

Best wishes.

soki91

Hi Chris,
I'm so sorry to hear about your stroke. It's sad when life takes a cruel turn like this. Just over a year ago my husband had a haemorrhagic stroke (paralysed on his left side) at the age of 40 and was in hospital for 3 months then rehabilitation for 3months. He is home now and still recovering but doing well. We are in a very similar situation to you, with a mortgage and 3 young children. I would contact the stroke association for advice. We also used our local disability resource centre for help with filling forms and other advice. I hope all goes well with your call to the mortgage company. They were great with us. I was on maternity leave at the time my husband fell sick, so we used up all our savings. I was part of a fund at work that paid when you or and immediate family had a problem and they were able to help financially. We are awaiting PIP assessment outcome and he's on ESA. He too was a work when it happened. His employer has been great thoughout. I do wish you and your family the best in the future. Things are a lot better for us now. Never give up, keep working hard on your physio!