What Benefits Should I Claim if too Ill to Work?

Maharishi

Hello there, been Googling all afternoon and managed to fry my brain so I need to seek help and advice from those who understand the system ...

Background:

Male, married, no children and three years before pension is due at 66 for me. I have been self employed for 38 years unbroken as a solo entertainer (guitarist and singer). Wife has been retired for 10 years (75) and has only pension income.

Circumstances:

Twelve months ago I started to get lower back and abdominal pain which meant that standing for longer than 25 minutes became very uncomfortable. Sitting was the same. After a few weeks I sought medical advice and, after x-rays, the doctor advised me that I had fractured my lumbar spine at some point and, although it had healed, there was now evidence of nerve impingement and disc damage. My abdominal issue also means that any weight above 25 pounds is now too heavy for me to lift unaided.

The pain has now become unbearable after 15 minutes and so my career has come to an end. Even sleeping is very difficult and I can see no other alternative than to bridge the gap between now and my pension with some sort of unable to work type of benefit(s)

So, what do I do now? I have never claimed anything in all these years despite my income being very meagre and the whole thing seems like a totally confusing minefield. Do I:

a) Sign on as unemployed
b) Ask my Doctor to write a letter
c) Claim as unfit or unable to work
d) Other

I really am at my wits' end here and any help would be very much appreciated ...

poppy12345

If you've paid enough class 2 NI contributions in the previous 2 tax years then you'll be able to claim New style ESA with a fit note from your GP. This pays £73.10 per week. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-style-employment-and-support-allowance-esa-claim-form


If you haven't paid enough Contributions then it will have to be Universal credit and you'll need a fit note from your GP to be able to claim limited capability for work. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/
https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/Universal_Credit_Work_Capability_Assessment




Do you rent or own your own home?

NedS

poppy12345 wrote: »

If you haven't paid enough Contributions then it will have to be Universal credit and you'll need a fit note from your GP to be able to claim limited capability for work. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/
https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/Universal_Credit_Work_Capability_Assessment

And if you do claim UC then your wife will also have to claim (as it has to be a joint claim) even though she is retired and above state pension age. Her pension income will be taken into account and deducted from any UC to which you may be entitled.

calcotti

If you claim Universal Credit your wife will need to claim too. Your entitlement will then be worked out on your joint circumstances. Whether you are entitled to anything will depend on the amount of pension your wife is receiving and any savings.
If you have joint savings over £16,000 you cannot claim Universal Credit.

You may also be able to claim Council Tax Reduction from your local authority to help with your Council Tax.

There are online benefit calculators here https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators

If you rentyour home Universal Credit will help with your rent.

If you claim both UC and ESA the amount of UC is reduced by the ESA you receive.

Spoonie_Turtle

This is nothing to do with work but if your health impacts your daily functioning you might be able to claim PIP https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/before-claiming/check-you-are-eligible/

It is a separate minefield but once you've got a basic income sorted (ESA or UC) it might be worth investigating.

[Deleted User]

I would also ask your GP to refer you to the pain clinic (most hospitals now have one(

Maharishi

poppy12345 wrote: »

If you've paid enough class 2 NI contributions in the previous 2 tax years then you'll be able to claim New style ESA with a fit note from your GP. This pays £73.10 per week. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-style-employment-and-support-allowance-esa-claim-form


If you haven't paid enough Contributions then it will have to be Universal credit and you'll need a fit note from your GP to be able to claim limited capability for work. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/
https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/Universal_Credit_Work_Capability_Assessment




Do you rent or own your own home?

Not paid many years NIC as always been below threshold so it would appear to be option 2.

House belongs solely to my wife and is mortgage free.

Maharishi

NedS wrote: »

And if you do claim UC then your wife will also have to claim (as it has to be a joint claim) even though she is retired and above state pension age. Her pension income will be taken into account and deducted from any UC to which you may be entitled.

That seems odd as:

a) She doesn't impact my finances at all and
b) She gets a basic State Pension.

Maharishi

calcotti wrote: »

If you claim Universal Credit your wife will need to claim too. Your entitlement will then be worked out on your joint circumstances. Whether you are entitled to anything will depend on the amount of pension your wife is receiving and any savings.
If you have joint savings over £16,000 you cannot claim Universal Credit.

You may also be able to claim Council Tax Reduction from your local authority to help with your Council Tax.

There are online benefit calculators here https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators

If you rentyour home Universal Credit will help with your rent.

If you claim both UC and ESA the amount of UC is reduced by the ESA you receive.

Oh dear, this is looking bleak. I have £500 rainy day savings for vehicle repairs if they should arise etc BUT my wife has circa £30k in personal savings. Sounds like that will cause me an issue even though it's nothing to do with me - it's her money, obviously.

It's why we have never been able to claim reduced Council Tax despite my meagre earnings meaning that we would have qualified for approx £600 rebate.

I have no idea what ESA stands for but if, as I suspect, it is derived from NIC then that's also a cul-de-sac.

Maharishi

venison wrote: »

I would also ask your GP to refer you to the pain clinic (most hospitals now have one(

Please excuse the ignorance but how do they help? I am obviously not going to start popping pills as that is a one way street to addiction dependency and it only masks the problem(s).

The only thing that helps me is to move. Sounds daft but that "cures" it, i.e. if the referred neuralgia commences when standing, then I need to sit - if it starts during sitting, then I need to stand and walk around. If it disturbs my sleep (about 8/9 times a night), then I need to change position and it abates for a while.

If I am constantly moving, it goes away to a large extent. It's only really bad during positional immobility. Driving long distance is really difficult.

Maharishi

Spoonie_Turtle wrote: »

This is nothing to do with work but if your health impacts your daily functioning you might be able to claim PIP https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/before-claiming/check-you-are-eligible/

It is a separate minefield but once you've got a basic income sorted (ESA or UC) it might be worth investigating.

Having checked I don't believe that it would be applicable to myself as I don't have any day to day mobility issues or need support in basic tasks. Aside from remembering not to try and pick up more than 25 pounds, (a 3 gallon bucket filled with water is too heavy!), I can manage 99% of everything else.