Question For Kelloggs36

skibadee

Don't know if you can help with this....
husbands employment payable per week re CSA assessment £84.06....leaving what should be a protected income level of approx £248.00 a week....but also paying £48.50 a week arrears...which in total leaves us below the protected income level for a couple.....appeal has stated the £84.06 is correct assessment and leaves us with protected income of £248.00....but obviously it doesn't taking into consideration the arrears also being paid too.

Is there any way the arrears amount can be adjusted taking the above into consideration?

kelloggs36

Protected income under CS1 is different from protected income on a DEO - so they can take up to 40% of a person's net income to cover both regular maintenance and arrears. The protected income in the assessment is calculated in order to determine the level at which maintenance is actually payable - not counting arrears. What you must be left with though, is 60% of the net income on which to live at the least. Under CS1, the maximum amount for regular maintnenace was 30% of a net income, yet if arrears were due, a further 10% can be taken. They are 2 separate issues I'm afraid.

What is hubby's takehome pay before the CSA get their hands on it? If you calculate 40% of that, and it is less than they are taking, then I doulbt that you will win the argument with them. They are being particularly harsh at the moment.

skibadee

Kelloggs36.....another question if you don't mind
whats the difference between exempt income and protected income...as they are obviously two different amouts..exempt income being the lower?

Also we've been advised to contact Accounts Control Officer at Hastings office to discuss question of payments and arrears...is this a worthwhile line to follow?

kelloggs36

Exempt income is purely based on the NRP income. Taken off the net income are certain allowances for themselves (£59.15 being the current rate), the housing costs and any allowances for children that live with the NRP that are biologically the NRP's children (or adopted). Sometimes there are travel to work costs too. These allowances are the Exempt Income. They are taken off the net income, and when the PWC has no assessable income, this amount is halved and compared to the Maintenance REquirement to establish the amount actually payable. This amount is the Assessable Income - ie the amount used in the rest of the calculation.

Protected income is used in order to determine if the household can afford to pay the maintnenace due. If protected income is let's say £350 per week, but after the assessable income has been calculated, the maintnence due is £65 per week, but by paying it the NRP is left with less than the £350 per week, then the maintenance due is the amount which leaves the NRP family with £350 per week (ie a reduction and in some cases it means that nothing is payable). In some cases, the amount left over is substantially more than the protected income and so when the maintnenace is paid, it still leaves the NRP family with at least the protected income on which to live - so the NRP pays the full rate. Otherwise the amount payable is reduced.

The protected amount for a DEO is 60% of the NRP net income that week or month, so this could be more or less than the protected income on which the assessment is based.

What is 40% of your hubby's net income? The key question is whether you can agree and afford to pay off the arrears within a period of 2 years?

skibadee

CSA are not allowing us protected income level of £248.....because OH is being treated as a single person...i think his level is approx £176, 40% of his net pay is approx £132.

Gosh this is all so confusing!!

we have no dependents, let me give you a brief history...

oh's ex left him over 12yrs ago to be with man she was having affair with, she took their two children then aged 2yrs and the other 4mths...OH was paying her £50 a wk cash...no proof ...he had cotact with his children ad when he met me this contact continued, the children stayed every other wkend, if they needed shoes etc., and he could afford it OH also bought these on top of £50 payment....OH has another daughter, now aged 22yrs....in approx 1997 this daughters mother made a maintenance claim via CSA...OH's ex was then told that due to this he would not be able to continue paying £50 to her but would have to reduce it.....didn't go down very well...consequently she also put a claim into CSA.....so to cut a long story short OH had two assessments...the original asessments came out as payment of £12 a wk which was divided by CSA between two assessments.....a few years later when reassessed payment was increased to £100 a wk....which OH could not afford...case was taken up by MP and assessment was zero'd.....nothing else was heard from CSA until 2004 when they contacted OH by phone...i had at that time just been diagnosed with Breast Cancer and was undergoing treatment...OH explained this to them....again heard nothing until November 1st 2007 when a DEO was issued to OH.....this order has now been suspended as OH has had to change jobs to cut down on travelling costs...so januarys payment was reduced due to OH not earning a full months wage and payment was made via debit card to CSA....when he recieves a full months wage this month a copy of wage slip will be faxed to CSA and again februarys payment will e via debit card.
There is now only one assessment on OH the second one [ for daughter ] has been cancelled.

Sorry that was a bit long winded.

kelloggs36

The two different protected income figures are not the same at all. Whilst his protected income on the assessment is £248 per week, the 40% will not take account of this figure - the 40% will be taken from his net income figure and is the maximum they can take - even if it eats into the protected income. The protected income is to calculate the weekly figure but is not linked to the payment. The protected income figure for payment is 60% of his net income - so if he earned more money, he would be left with 60% of that which may leave you with more than the protected income figure on the assessment - does that make sense? Unfortunately most people are lef with below the protected income figure in the assessment.

Has he requested a new assessment based on his new income?

skibadee

i think they are going to reassess when he has next wage slip.....but obviously it will still be under the old system.

Also why does the assessment include an allowance for his ex because she is the mother of the children....I thought maintenance was for children not ex's

skibadee

Sensemaya.......I think your comments are completely uncalled for....i thought these forums were to give help etc.,....by the way i'm not taking it out on the kids......if you were to read my earlier post you'd see that his ex was the guilty party NOT him...do not presume all NRP's are NRP's through choice and not all NRP's are men either....if you can't give a comment without making snide remarks perhaps you shouldn't post......after all you don't know all the facts.

kelloggs36

There is no allowance for the mother (or whomever the PWC is) it is a carer's allowance to account for the costs in caring for a child, such as having to pay childcare costs, having to work part time and reducing the potential income etc, the costs of running said child around - all these things cost money and this is what is used to calculate the amount required for that child.

Strapped

Skibadee, from the CSA's guide to the old rules:

"There are safeguards to ensure that non-resident
parents keep more money than they would get if they
were receiving Income Support or income-based
Jobseeker’s Allowance, and do not pay more than 30
per cent of their net income in child maintenance
assessed under the child support formula. If they owe
arrears they will not generally be asked to pay more
than 33 per cent of their net income, unless they have
failed to make or keep an agreement to pay child
maintenance when they may be required to pay up to
40 per cent of their net income."

So I guess there is an arguement that your hubby shouldn't have to pay more than 33% of his assessable income (which on your figures comes out to £109.58 pw). If they are taking more than this, I would take it up with them.

Sensemaya, I think your comments are inappropriate and speak volumes about yourself rather than the OP.

skibadee

Thank you for that information Strapped.....We will definetly be taking this up with them.....have also had letter from MP saying he will write to CSA on husbands behalf, so will add the above information to letter to him.

It good to know there are people here willing to give useful information regarding what is a very complex system.