Child maintenance and Income Support

agme28

Hiya

My partner and I have separated and I have started a claim for full benefits as I don't work and am a full-time mum to two children under the age of three.

The benefits agency rang again this morning to ask if I wanted to pursue a claim for child maintenance through the CSA. I wasn't sure what to say as the LP adviser at the Jobcentre told me it was best to have a private arrangement and cut out the CSA. The man said I had 14 days to think about it and arranged for me to see the LP adviser again next week.

So I am assuming the CSA have to write to my ex and then write to me to ask how I want maintenance to be collected? I want to collect it myself but will I be penalised in any way? I've read that if I went through the CSA, I would get to keep £10 of any maintenance on top of full benefit, whereas if I just take the maintenance as income my benefits will be reduced pound for pound and there will be no £10 disregard. Is this correct, or is there a £10 disregard whichever you do it.

We would just like to keep the arrangement simple as I hear horror stories about CSA, plus my ex has a child to his ex-wife and has always paid on time via a voluntary arrangement and I trust him implicitly.

Kind Regards

Abigail

mitchaa

You cannot claim IS and pick up maintenance from your ex privately.

Otherwise you could be receiving full benefit + a substantial amount of maintenance

If the CSA contact your ex, then they will take a DOE from him, so yes if he has a high salary and pays say £100pw then you would only get your £60.50pw IS + £10 child maintenance and the remainder would go to the state.

If you did not claim IS, the full £100 could privately go to you.

This is the way i understand it anyway.

lil_me

Something worth considering is if you claim directly from your ex partner and his payments are higher than your IS your claim for IS would then be zero and automatic allowance for HB/LHA, CTB, Free Precriptions/dental treatment, school meals etc would go.

Helen819

mitchaa wrote: »

You cannot claim IS and pick up maintenance from your ex privately.

Otherwise you could be receiving full benefit + a substantial amount of maintenance

If the CSA contact your ex, then they will take a DOE from him, so yes if he has a high salary and pays say £100pw then you would only get your £60.50pw IS + £10 child maintenance and the remainder would go to the state.

If you did not claim IS, the full £100 could privately go to you.

This is the way i understand it anyway.

Also if you are claiming Income support you can tell them you dont want it to go through the csa ,but please beware that they can then deduct your benefit by an astonomical amount,was entitle to £59 then wouldnt let them go through csa so they cut my benefit to 32 pound per week,they can do this for 26 weeks and then start again after this period ended.I still dont go through them,i have had to have my benefit reduced,but my ex makes up the shortfall,plus a bit extra,i know im not supposed to do this but i didnt have a choice.The child wouldnt have seen his daddy if id have taken him to csa cus he would have been that mad id done it.It not a ideal situation,but we both ok with it,I get my money aand more importantly he feels he not getting ripped off.Cus the csa would do that.

agme28

So why is it different declaring maintenance as earnings from declaring wages as earnings? Why can't he give me the money direct (its less than income support) and I just get income support for the remaining amount? So £40 week maintenance and £20 income support? Why can't we do that?

thanks!

lil_me

They may be able to go via this route if you tell them that you are being paid directly then they will deduct it from your IS, however they will advise against this as if the person you are claiming from looses their job, is off on the sick etc and can not pay then you will be left short. They may also ask for a correct assesment if they believe the amount the person is paying is wrong.