Need Advice for My Mother Who Just Lost My Dad

powerspowers

I think it would be worth your mum having a benefit check- Your local council will either offer them or should signpost to a local organisation that can.  As previously mentioned she may be eligible for bereavement allowance which she can claim alongside UC. She should be exempt from work search due to her bereavement or health conditions, even if not I think she can string it out until July. 

Is your mum okay for money in the next few weeks? The carers should run on for 8 weeks I think. If either of you are struggling whilst things are set up, again the local council should have crisis financial support available but some don’t. I’m happy to check if needed.  

Sorry about your dad x

Murphybear

I’m so sorry to hear of your loss.  I do understand how you feel, I lost my brother just before Christmas last year and my other brother is seriously ill in hospital.  You will find people on here very friendly and helpful.  

calcotti

powerspowers said:

As previously mentioned she may be eligible for bereavement allowance 

She will be. https://www.gov.uk/bereavement-support-payment

powerspowers said:

She should be exempt from work search due to her bereavement or health conditions

As already advised , she is for six months.

powerspowers said:

.. I think she can string it out until July. 

Completely agree that by the time the bereavement exemption ends she should will be able to string it out until reaching pension age. Obviously she will in any case continue to be exempt from work search if found to have LCW or LCWRA.

NedS

calcotti said:

NedS said:...

In certain specific cases (such as the bereavement of a partner or child), the regulations require that both work search activities and work preparation activities are both switched off for 6 months on the claimant commitment.

There’s very useful to know (I could only find clauses in ADM that refer to switching off work search and work availability requirement which I inferred meant that work preparation could continue).

Regulation 99 of the regulations also only refers to switching off work search and work availability requirement. The work availability requirement encompasses being available for interview which I thought meant employment interview with a prospective employer but perhaps it also includes interview with a Work Coach.

Yes, I'm not 100% sure. The guidance states the WC should contact the claimant after 3 months to offer support (that probably means work prep), and not to persist if the claimant declines support at this time. The guidance is also clear than no sanction action should be taken during the 6 month mandatory switch off period. I think it's intended to mean it would be appropriate for the WC to engage with and support the claimant if they (the claimant) wanted that support at that time, but how you square that with a "mandatory 6 month switch off" is unclear. Maybe they only intend for availability for work and work search activities to be switched off, and not work preparation activities. I'd have to consult one of our experts for a definitive answer but generally the intent is that the WCs should not be asking the claimant to do anything for 6 months if they do not want to.

calcotti

NedS said:..Maybe they only intend for availability for work and work search activities to be switched off, and not work preparation activities. 

That's how I read it.

NedS said: generally the intent is that the WCs should not be asking the claimant to do anything for 6 months if they do not want to.

Which seems the more practical (and sensitive) approach.

acharris

Thanks for the advice all. I need som advice for my mam claim for UC. She is eligible for the UC, but I am struggling with how to fill the form out at the moment? At the moment she is waiting for her Bereavement Support Payment and also my dad's MPS pension have told her she will have 2/3 of his pension, but she is waiting for the forms to fill out and obviously being holidays this is taking longer.

So I start the claim now I know it takes 5 weeks for first payment, but do I include the MPS even though the full amount as not been decided yet so we don't know, and the Bereavement Support Payment. Also she was told she maybe entitled to a little bit of my Dad's state pension, but again nothing definite on that yet. So all I can put on the claim form for now is her PIP and nothing else. How do I go about this as she needs help with rent and council tax ASAP. Thanks in advance for advice.

Anthony

KxMx

I would put down what she gets now. 
As other things get finalised, you can add notes to journal with amounts, if they need you to do a formal change of circumstances elsewhere within the UC account, they will give instructions.

Council Tax Reduction is administered through local councils so you apply through them
https://www.gov.uk/apply-council-tax-reduction 

For income you can put down her PIP, once the UC and other things come through you can update local authority who will reassess the CTR award if necessary. 

calcotti

The Bereavement Support Payment is ignored so you don’t need to mention that.

I think there is a question about disability benefits but PIP doesn’t affect the amount of UC payable.

I suggest ignoring the MPS when answering the questions but as soon as you have access to the online journal post a message saying that she will be getting an MPS but that she doesn’t yet know how much it will be.

Regards State Pension, even if she can inherit some of your father’s pension, as far as I know that will not be payable until she is pension age herself.