petition for people on PIP and all other disability benefits to get £650 pay

Rubyroobs

SingleSue said:

Rubyroobs said:

It's ridiculous. As Poppy says people can be very wealthy and still claim disability benefits. I have helped many an elderly person to claim Attendance Allowance and they have 50K + in the bank. Anyone disabled and on a low income will be on  Uc/ tax credits/ Income related  ESA etc and will get the £650 that way. Sorry but no signature from me either.

Most not all.....

I'm on a low income, receive PIP and chose not to claim a UC top up due to trying to preserve my mental health (weekly paid, variable hours). I work but wasn't doing enough hours to claim tax credits when they were available in this area.

 There is no problem with either variable hours or being weekly paid on UC. The amount of Uc you receive would just vary slightly each month. Just because you chose not to claim a means tested benefit  you are entitled to does not mean that everyone on a disability benefit should get £650 surely?

fire**fly

Rubyroobs said:

fire**fly said:

hi, an example i know of is a 79yr old who is registered blind doesn't receive any other benefits &  only receives low mobility because of being on the old DLA & couldn't change to pip, but a younger person with the same disability changed to pip & got the higher rate & can can get the £650 living allowance how can that be fair?

Being in receipt of a higher rate of disability benefit does not get you the £650. The £650 is received by being on a means tested benefit like Universal credit, income related ESA or pension credit. The 79 year old on low mobility DLA cannot get their mobility award increased after state pension age, so that is irrelevant. If they don't qualify for any pension credit then that is because it's considered  they have a reasonable income. If they are on low DLA care component then they could consider applying for Attendance allowance instead or asking for the DLA care component to be reviewed. If awarded middle rate care or AA then depending on their circumstances this may increase the likelihood of receiving pension credit. People on Attendance allowance have no mobility component at all.

hi rubyroobs, big thanks for the info, didn't know the 79yr old could apply for AA , not sure what other benefits the younger one gets but sounds like they must be in receipt of other qualifying benefits of which they hadn't told me. thanks poppy & Rubyroobs for both of your help very much appreciated 

Rubyroobs

fire**fly said:

Rubyroobs said:

fire**fly said:

hi, an example i know of is a 79yr old who is registered blind doesn't receive any other benefits &  only receives low mobility because of being on the old DLA & couldn't change to pip, but a younger person with the same disability changed to pip & got the higher rate & can can get the £650 living allowance how can that be fair?

Being in receipt of a higher rate of disability benefit does not get you the £650. The £650 is received by being on a means tested benefit like Universal credit, income related ESA or pension credit. The 79 year old on low mobility DLA cannot get their mobility award increased after state pension age, so that is irrelevant. If they don't qualify for any pension credit then that is because it's considered  they have a reasonable income. If they are on low DLA care component then they could consider applying for Attendance allowance instead or asking for the DLA care component to be reviewed. If awarded middle rate care or AA then depending on their circumstances this may increase the likelihood of receiving pension credit. People on Attendance allowance have no mobility component at all.

hi rubyroobs, big thanks for the info, didn't know the 79yr old could apply for AA , not sure what other benefits the younger one gets but sounds like they must be in receipt of other qualifying benefits of which they hadn't told me. thanks poppy & Rubyroobs for both of your help very much appreciated 

The 79 year old on DLA would need to consider that there is no mobility component on AA though. A detailed chat with a benefits adviser to explore options to maximise their income could be beneficial. They cannot receive both DLA and AA as they are both disability benefits.

fire**fly

NedS said:

They are being treated equally. The £650 payment is means tested regardless of whether the person has a disability or not. And disabled people also get the £400 payment that is not means tested, again the same as everyone else so no discrimination there either.

If your arguments are based around disabled people having higher bills as a result of their disability and therefore needing extra help, that is covered by the £150 additionally available to everyone claiming PIP/DLA. Rather than petitioning to also receive the means tested £650 (which they may not be entitled to under means testing rules), you should maybe consider a petition seeking an increase in the £150 amount payable to disabled people as that seems to be where your arguments stand?

hi it's not my argument i was sent the link by people i know who are disabled  & thought it might help others who don't qualify for the £650 & are disabled  but don't get other benefits that would help them, seems it's a bit of a minefield with it all ! 

SingleSue

Rubyroobs said:

SingleSue said:

Rubyroobs said:

It's ridiculous. As Poppy says people can be very wealthy and still claim disability benefits. I have helped many an elderly person to claim Attendance Allowance and they have 50K + in the bank. Anyone disabled and on a low income will be on  Uc/ tax credits/ Income related  ESA etc and will get the £650 that way. Sorry but no signature from me either.

Most not all.....

I'm on a low income, receive PIP and chose not to claim a UC top up due to trying to preserve my mental health (weekly paid, variable hours). I work but wasn't doing enough hours to claim tax credits when they were available in this area.

 There is no problem with either variable hours or being weekly paid on UC. The amount of Uc you receive would just vary slightly each month. Just because you chose not to claim a means tested benefit  you are entitled to does not mean that everyone on a disability benefit should get £650 surely?

I wasn't giving an opinion on the £650, for the record, no I don't believe they should. However, it should also be pointed out that it is not all means tested benefits that make you eligible for the larger payment, housing and council tax benefits are not included despite being means tested. Yes, you can go cap in hand and jump through the hoops with your local council to try to get a smaller amount but it is not guaranteed you will get anything.

And variable and weekly pay is an absolute nightmare on UC, after seeing what a colleague (same hours, same variable and weekly pay) was put through because of it, it only cemented my decision. There were other reasons but that is not for this thread.

Robbie64

Rubyroobs said:

fire**fly said:

Rubyroobs said:

fire**fly said:

hi, an example i know of is a 79yr old who is registered blind doesn't receive any other benefits &  only receives low mobility because of being on the old DLA & couldn't change to pip, but a younger person with the same disability changed to pip & got the higher rate & can can get the £650 living allowance how can that be fair?

Being in receipt of a higher rate of disability benefit does not get you the £650. The £650 is received by being on a means tested benefit like Universal credit, income related ESA or pension credit. The 79 year old on low mobility DLA cannot get their mobility award increased after state pension age, so that is irrelevant. If they don't qualify for any pension credit then that is because it's considered  they have a reasonable income. If they are on low DLA care component then they could consider applying for Attendance allowance instead or asking for the DLA care component to be reviewed. If awarded middle rate care or AA then depending on their circumstances this may increase the likelihood of receiving pension credit. People on Attendance allowance have no mobility component at all.

hi rubyroobs, big thanks for the info, didn't know the 79yr old could apply for AA , not sure what other benefits the younger one gets but sounds like they must be in receipt of other qualifying benefits of which they hadn't told me. thanks poppy & Rubyroobs for both of your help very much appreciated 

The 79 year old on DLA would need to consider that there is no mobility component on AA though. A detailed chat with a benefits adviser to explore options to maximise their income could be beneficial. They cannot receive both DLA and AA as they are both disability benefits.

You can claim DLA (mobility component) and AA at the sme time. Although many websites state that a person can't claim AA and DLA at the same time, it's the care component of DLA that prevents a claim for AA being made. If the only component of DLA that is in payment is mobility then the person can also claim AA.

maisie_cat

Both my in laws have claimed AA and one also claimed pension credit and all the other gateway benefits. The other also has £100k in the bank and claims nothing else except state pension. The receipt of means tested benefits is the line the in the sand separating the "poor" from other people and this is not different. 
It is virtually impossible for the Government to assess and cover every scenario without having access to all income and assets for all citizens

fire**fly

hopefully things seem to be getting a bit clearer  to help those who work/have worked/paid into the system but people who are disabled & have worked with their disabilities through their life & they had to join the companies pension scheme as well as paying NI insurance stamps for their state pension so they get a pension from the company they worked  at retirement age & now receive the state pension but because of the government cap for taking them above for the sake of a few pounds they cannot claim any benefits & are now having to draw on their small pensions to live on, it does seem unfair that disabled people who have worked & are penalised for having a private pension & having that private pension however small is stopping them qualifying for the £650 living cost.

...

However, there has already been harsh criticism of the government for the perceived disparity in the support that has been offered. Many critics have asked why people on disability benefit only get £150 and why they are not eligible for the £650 payment.

In fact, a petition has even been launched to urge the government to reconsider the amount that people on PIP and Carer's Allowance. The petition is asking the government to boost the £150 to £650.

And the issue has also been raised by MPs, asking why some have been excluded from the higher level of cost of living support. 

gbhxu

maisie_cat said:

Both my in laws have claimed AA and one also claimed pension credit and all the other gateway benefits. The other also has £100k in the bank and claims nothing else except state pension. The receipt of means tested benefits is the line the in the sand separating the "poor" from other people and this is not different. 
It is virtually impossible for the Government to assess and cover every scenario without having access to all income and assets for all citizens

They get the Winter Fuel Allowance too