Mortgage Interest Payments when changing from JSA to IB/IS

roadrunner1_2

My friend is currently claiming Job Seekers Allowance and as part of this their interest is paid on their mortgage and they have taken a payment holiday.

They have recently been diagnosed with depression and prescribed medication and are also awaiting a counselling appointment, they are having a really bad time at the mo and definitely not fit for work so my question is if they now make a claim for Incapacity Benefit will the payments for the mortgage interest continue??

Also I have seen some people say on here that if you do not qualify for IB then you may need to claim Income Support on the grounds of Incapacity so again I have the same question, if this is the route my friend must follow then will the mortgage interest payments continue??

Thanks in advance for any advice/assistance.

mitchaa

Wasn't aware that mortgage payments were met if you were on JSA.

Its called ISMI (Income Support Mortgage Interest)

Meaning you need to be on IS to qualify. Wasn't aware of a scheme for JSA

You sure your friend isn't already claiming IS, otherwise i cant see how the interest on her/his mortgage is paid.

dmg24

IS and JSA are the same amounts. Time on JSA is counted towards the waiting period for ISMI, and as such, ISMI is claimable after this period, irrespective of which of the benefits you are claiming.

mitchaa

dmg24 wrote: »

IS and JSA are the same amounts. Time on JSA is counted towards the waiting period for ISMI, and as such, ISMI is claimable after this period, irrespective of which of the benefits you are claiming.

Wasn't aware of that.

JSA is supposed to be a short term benefit though (6mths) but i take it you can claim ISMI on all 3? (IS/JSA or IB)

dmg24

roadrunner1 wrote: »

My friend is currently claiming Job Seekers Allowance and as part of this their interest is paid on their mortgage and they have taken a payment holiday.

They have recently been diagnosed with depression and prescribed medication and are also awaiting a counselling appointment, they are having a really bad time at the mo and definitely not fit for work so my question is if they now make a claim for Incapacity Benefit will the payments for the mortgage interest continue??

Also I have seen some people say on here that if you do not qualify for IB then you may need to claim Income Support on the grounds of Incapacity so again I have the same question, if this is the route my friend must follow then will the mortgage interest payments continue??

Thanks in advance for any advice/assistance.

Your friend's ability to claim IB will depend on his NI Contributions record. There are special rules for those that have spent time on JSA, and he would need to check with the Jobcentre if he would qualify (it sounds like he has been claiming for a long time?).

If your friend qualifies for IB, his entitlement to ISMI would depend on which rate he qualified for (long term or short term, plus any possible age addition), and if he qualified for any premiums on IS (those with health conditions often do).

Without further information it is not possible to be more specific. He should be able to gain a more definitive answer from the Jobcentre, or if you are able to give further information (age, how long he has been claiming JSA for, any other income in the household, what he did before claiming JSA) we can give a more definitive answer x

dmg24

mitchaa wrote: »

Wasn't aware of that.

JSA is supposed to be a short term benefit though (6mths) but i take it you can claim ISMI on all 3? (IS/JSA or IB)

Income based JSA can be claimed indefinitely.

IB in itself is too high to claim IS/ ISMI, however with possible IS premiums due to disability, it may be possible to qualify for IS/ ISMI.