Benefits (unable to work etc)

Gemmzie

This is on behalf of a friend of my mum and her husband.

He's got a broken disc in his back, in agony, can't walk, is 22 weeks into SSP. Is due an operation but has to wait months for the consultation, then six months approx for the actual op. At 28 weeks it's IB right? (1) At which rate? (2)

I've persuaded his wife to put in a claim for DLA, according to the severity test online he should be getting Higher Rate for both. I believe he can claim this from the 3rd month so would be due a back payment if successful? (3)

She works part-time (20 hours) and gets about £500 a month. This covers her rent (which is all inclusive), private landlord.

She also has about £18k in savings but has committed £3k to her daughter's wedding this summer (which I believe is allowed?). (4)
After this she should be able to claim Housing Benefit? (5)

Just wondering if there's anything I've missed or got wrong. I've numbered the points I need checking for clarity, thanks.

DaisyFlower

Savings over 6k affect housing benefit so she may not get this, also giving 3k to her daughter will be classed as deprevation of capital as its not a necessity.

kosma1

point 1. i believe when he has used all his SSp, he will go onto IB, as long as enough conts have been paid with the 3 tax years they need to look at, this should be paid at the same rate of SSP, it was £72.55 per week, but rates have just increaed, and ithink it may have gone up to £74.50 but these figurs may not be exact

i think the DLA can backdate up to 3 months so hopefully will have some back pay if qualifies, but someone else may be able to come along and confirm that

jul22

(1) After being in receipt of SSP for 26 weeks your friend's SSP should come to an end. At that point the employer should issue an SSP1. Incapacity Benefit can then be claimed. The SSP1 will be used to calculate how long SSP has been paid. On the assumption that the person who is sick has paid enough NAtional Insurance contributions in the last few years, the Incapacity Benefit should start paying (2) at the 'Short Term Higher' rate which was £72.55 as Kosma stated, but like Kosma I'm not sure of the new rate for this year (Sorry!). However, if the person claiming hasn't paid enough NI Conts then they will just receive a credit instead (towards their old age pension I think)- but no money.

(3) My knowledge of DLA is not great so I can't comment on the DLA aspect - again sorry!

(4) As the wife earns approximately £500 pcm, this would work out at approximately £115 per week. The first £10 of this amount would be disregarded, meaning that £105 per week was taken into account. This is higher than Income Support - which is means tested- and so that alone would mean that they weren't eligible for IS. In addition, as she currently has £18k in capital (even though £3k is set aside for her daughter's forthcoming wedding) this would also mean that they were not eligible for IS as the limit of capital that a customer is allowed to have in order to receive IS is £16k.

As far as Housing Benefit is concerned I will leave that to someone more qualified than I am to answer your question as my knowledge is non-existant!

PS When IB is claimed, remember to enclose medical certificates along with the SSP1 as it should mean that you get paid sooner rather than later!