Can I just double check?

mummytofour

Hi Guys,
I just need to check this out.
I currently get carers allowance, for the car of my son.
On July 31st my dh will be leaving work at which point I will come off carers allowance.
On monday following my dh will put in the application for carers and IS as we will have no income, I need to check that we should be entitled to IS, its that right?
Thanks in advance
(please dont judge you dont know the facts )

dmg24

Why are you swapping your CA entitlement to your hubby?

If neither of you are working, or on a v low income, you will be entitled to IS x

mummytofour

Thanks hunni.
Im going to uni is sep and dh is finishing work so he can be at home with the kids altho he will be doing a part-time college course. He is leaving work in july to cover the summer holidays as they are pure hell on my own (sen son need lots of one to one).
Just a huge scary move having never claimed IS before I keep have nightmares they refuse the claim.

dmg24

No problem. There has been a recent case where someone was able to study full time and claim CA, but they had one heck of a struggle to get it (I think it went to the High Court?), so I agree, it is easier to transfer it.

You will be able to continue your IS claim in September, however be aware that you will need to declare your student income (loan, grant etc). Some of it is counted and some isn't - can't remember which off the top of my head, but there are a few posts about it on the Student Moneysaving board x

alwaysonthego_2

adult's dependance grant needs to be declared for tc

lil_me

Only issue I can see them having is because you are no longer claiming CA you should be claiming JSA rather than IS. If you both received carers allowance or something then you would be entitled to IS, but if you are of working age and one is not claiming a qualifying benefit, then surely they would insist you should claim JSA? I know my friend claims CA for her son and when her partner was out of work she wasn't allowed to claim IS for him, he had to sign on for JSA as a joint claim for them both.

mummytofour

lil_me wrote: »

Only issue I can see them having is because you are no longer claiming CA you should be claiming JSA rather than IS. If you both received carers allowance or something then you would be entitled to IS, but if you are of working age and one is not claiming a qualifying benefit, then surely they would insist you should claim JSA? I know my friend claims CA for her son and when her partner was out of work she wasn't allowed to claim IS for him, he had to sign on for JSA as a joint claim for them both.

That is a worry...

DaisyFlower

I think lil-me is right, if only one of you can claim CA then they will expect the other person to seek work to support the family. You should also check if there will be any sanctions as he is giving up work voluntarily in order that you can study.

lil_me

It is one of those difficult situations, my friend did claim IS at first successfully but within weeks it was stopped (first she knew was a payment didn't come in) then she was called in and told he needed to sign on etc. If this is the case you may also not be entitled to JSA because you're study would mean you wouldn't be willing/able to take on a job, you would have to be willing to quit if something came along. This may of course not be the case but you should really check, maybe welfare rights would be able to advise (this is where my friend went and they confirmed DWP were correct and they needed to claim JSA)

bestpud

Student finance drastically reduces your IS etc, as far as I am aware, but single parents are able to claim benefits during the uni breaks. I don't think you can do this if you are a two parent family, unless your partner has a disability. You really need to check this out as student finance alone will not be enough to keep you all.

Re the summer holidays - this may not be ideal, but perhaps you could both get a part time job? That way, you'd have money coming in but would also both have a break from the child care? And you'd have no worries about sanctions.

Have you tried the CAB?

mummytofour

I have been to the uni and I have a finance prediction thing it says we have an underlying entitlement to IS, when a student.
To be honest I would love the IS but if its not meant to be its not I guess... I will have to manage some how.
I will put in the claim for IS when dh finishes and see what happens.