NI Contributions whilst furloughed

ernie94

Hi all
A question the DWP haven't really been able to answer satisfactorily.
At the start of Covid (2020) my wife was furloughed a couple of times from her part time hairdressing job (employed). Fast forward to this year and she's had major surgery for pancreatic cancer with chemo follow up. Not earning enough to be entitled to sick pay I applied for ESA on her behalf but that's been refused because she doesn't have a full contribution year for tax year 2020-21, the months she was on reduced salary whilst furloughed meant she didn't hit the primary threshold & not being in receipt of any form of benefit EVER, she didn't receive NI credits either. Was/is there anything in place that if you fell below the PT purely due to being furloughed on reduced salary it would be made up by the DWP or HMRC? We/she can't claim UC due to MY savings (dwindling as I left my job to be her carer) so neither of us have had any sort of income this year. Both of us have worked all our lives & never claimed any sort of benefit (she couldn't have children so has worked all her life) & voluntary contributions would only got towards state pension which is pointless as we'll already both receive full pension due to previous NI history.
I've raised this with my local MP who has contacted the DWP but no answer apart from 'she hasn't got a full year contribution'. Its now been taken to the Secretary of State for Work & Pensions for an answer but not hopeful.

tomtom256

Why would the DWP credit them? The DWP would only credit them if a relevant benefit was in payment. As far as I am aware it would be down to HMRC to decide whether to credit them owing to the furlough scheme.

kaMelo

As far as I remember no allowances or adjustments was made for anyone falling below the primary threshold due to furlough.

You also mention her not earning enough to qualify for sick pay yet this is based upon having earnings above the same primary threshold.

Are you sure it was only down to furlough and not because she simply wasn't earning enough anyway.

Spoonie_Turtle

Sorry this doesn't help with your query but if you don't already receive Carers Allowance, look into claiming it if she gets the daily living part of PIP.  It's based on earning below a threshold (which presumably applies to you since you've given up your job) but it's not means-tested with regard to savings.  It can be backdated 3 months, or to the start of her PIP claim if the PIP decision was under 3months ago.

And if she doesn't already claim PIP, look into that as well.

Do also be aware that as soon as your savings drop below £16,000 you can claim UC.  If she is undergoing or recovering from cancer treatment at that time then she will automatically be entitled to LCWRA which means extra money payable from the 4th month, and if she is in receipt of PIP you will be able to claim the carer element too (from the start).

poppy12345

Has she looked at claiming PIP (assuming you're not living in Scotland) https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/ it's a disability benefit, which isn't means tested so savings/capital and other income do not affect the amount she maybe entitled to.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/Migrated_Documents/adviceguide/pip-9-table-of-activities-descriptors-and-points.pdf

This link is long but worth the read. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-the-assessment-criteria

It's not awarded based on any diagnosis. Whether there's any entitlement will depend on how her conditions affect her. Unless she's claiming through end of life, with life expectancy 12 months or less.

ernie94

kaMelo said:

As far as I remember no allowances or adjustments was made for anyone falling below the primary threshold due to furlough.

You also mention her not earning enough to qualify for sick pay yet this is based upon having earnings above the same primary threshold.

Are you sure it was only down to furlough and not because she simply wasn't earning enough anyway.

She doesn't earn enough now or last FY due to reduced hours from her diagnosis & various hospital stays. Tax year 2019-20 & 2021-22 she had full contributions.

ernie94

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Sorry this doesn't help with your query but if you don't already receive Carers Allowance, look into claiming it if she gets the daily living part of PIP.  It's based on earning below a threshold (which presumably applies to you since you've given up your job) but it's not means-tested with regard to savings.  It can be backdated 3 months, or to the start of her PIP claim if the PIP decision was under 3months ago.

And if she doesn't already claim PIP, look into that as well.

Do also be aware that as soon as your savings drop below £16,000 you can claim UC.  If she is undergoing or recovering from cancer treatment at that time then she will automatically be entitled to LCWRA which means extra money payable from the 4th month, and if she is in receipt of PIP you will be able to claim the carer element too (from the start).

Started the PIP claim at the same time as ESA. Finally had an answer last week & was turned down. I've appealed that decision Monday just gone so will be a while again until we hear further. With no benefits being paid I can't claim any sort of carers allowance & have to wit until a final decision on the PIP claim to apply for carers credits (so my NI is paid).

sheramber

ernie94 said:

kaMelo said:

As far as I remember no allowances or adjustments was made for anyone falling below the primary threshold due to furlough.

You also mention her not earning enough to qualify for sick pay yet this is based upon having earnings above the same primary threshold.

Are you sure it was only down to furlough and not because she simply wasn't earning enough anyway.

She doesn't earn enough now or last FY due to reduced hours from her diagnosis & various hospital stays. Tax year 2019-20 & 2021-22 she had full contributions.

Furlough ceased September 2021.If she has full NI  contributions for 21-22 then furlough has not affected her NI record.7

poppy12345

ernie94 said:

kaMelo said:

As far as I remember no allowances or adjustments was made for anyone falling below the primary threshold due to furlough.

You also mention her not earning enough to qualify for sick pay yet this is based upon having earnings above the same primary threshold.

Are you sure it was only down to furlough and not because she simply wasn't earning enough anyway.

Tax year 2019-20 & 2021-22 she had full contributions.

TY 2019 is not the year they look at now. The years they look at are 2020/21 and 2021/22. The benefit year changes on the first Sunday in January so from then they will look at tax years 2021/22 and 2022/23. Though if she hasn't worked in 2022/23 then she won't qualify then either.

ernie94

sheramber said:

ernie94 said:

kaMelo said:

As far as I remember no allowances or adjustments was made for anyone falling below the primary threshold due to furlough.

You also mention her not earning enough to qualify for sick pay yet this is based upon having earnings above the same primary threshold.

Are you sure it was only down to furlough and not because she simply wasn't earning enough anyway.

She doesn't earn enough now or last FY due to reduced hours from her diagnosis & various hospital stays. Tax year 2019-20 & 2021-22 she had full contributions.

Furlough ceased September 2021.If she has full NI  contributions for 21-22 then furlough has not affected her NI record.7

DWP look at 2 tax years, 2020-21 & 2021-22. Year 2020-21 she didn't make enough contributions whilst 2021-22 she wasn't furloughed so not sure of the point you're making.

ernie94

poppy12345 said:

ernie94 said:

kaMelo said:

As far as I remember no allowances or adjustments was made for anyone falling below the primary threshold due to furlough.

You also mention her not earning enough to qualify for sick pay yet this is based upon having earnings above the same primary threshold.

Are you sure it was only down to furlough and not because she simply wasn't earning enough anyway.

Tax year 2019-20 & 2021-22 she had full contributions.

TY 2019 is not the year they look at now. The years they look at are 2020/21 and 2021/22. The benefit year changes on the first Sunday in January so from then they will look at tax years 2021/22 and 2022/23. Though if she hasn't worked in 2022/23 then she won't qualify then either.

I know. I was answering the comment about her just not earning enough.