can't afford to live on SSP
dawsss18
Posts: 8 Forumite
Hello all,
I am writing on behalf of my parents.
My Mother (61 years old) is off work due to having a hip replacement (3 months recovery) and can't go back till she is fit to work.
My Father (61 years old) is also off work due to a car crash. His work won't let him back till his doctor has said he is fit enough to go back. His doctor won't let him go back as they have found an aneurysm on his brain. So he has to have more tests to find out if the aneurysm was due to the car crash or not.
They are both being told they aren't allowed to go back to work yet, even though they want to go back and feel that they are fit enough to go back. So they are both losing out on their wage just because the doctors won't allow them back to work.
They are both receiving SSP, but £88 per week per person is not enough to cover their rent and the rest of their bills.
They have tried claiming some money to help pay for their bills, but because I live with them and I work full time they aren't allowed to claim anything. But I have my own bills to pay for, I can't afford to pay for myself and my parents rent and bills.
Does anyone know what benefits they would be entitled to? It seems that they would be better off if they didn't work at all - that's how messed up it is.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
I am writing on behalf of my parents.
My Mother (61 years old) is off work due to having a hip replacement (3 months recovery) and can't go back till she is fit to work.
My Father (61 years old) is also off work due to a car crash. His work won't let him back till his doctor has said he is fit enough to go back. His doctor won't let him go back as they have found an aneurysm on his brain. So he has to have more tests to find out if the aneurysm was due to the car crash or not.
They are both being told they aren't allowed to go back to work yet, even though they want to go back and feel that they are fit enough to go back. So they are both losing out on their wage just because the doctors won't allow them back to work.
They are both receiving SSP, but £88 per week per person is not enough to cover their rent and the rest of their bills.
They have tried claiming some money to help pay for their bills, but because I live with them and I work full time they aren't allowed to claim anything. But I have my own bills to pay for, I can't afford to pay for myself and my parents rent and bills.
Does anyone know what benefits they would be entitled to? It seems that they would be better off if they didn't work at all - that's how messed up it is.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
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Comments
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they wouldn't be allowed to claim for help to pay their bills anyway as this is what their SSP is for.
they should be able to claim for help with their rent, but will have a non dependant deduction due to your wage.
the amount will vary depending on how much you earn0 -
Thanks for the quick replies.
£88 SSP is no way enough to cover their rent, bills, food, petrol, etc. their rent alone is £650. Seem's unfair to expect them to live off £88 a week in my opinion. Especially when both of them are off sick.
I am going to help as much as I can to make sure their rent is paid. (I've only just found out today how much they are struggling, they didn't want to tell me). But as i mentioned I have my own bills I need to pay for.
edit: I will check out the housing benefit now.0 -
sd i disc previously ... the SSP is to pay their bills.
they should be able to claim housing benefit ( LHA if renting privately)
there will be a deduction in the amount they can claim because you are working and will be expected to pay a fair portion of the rent yourself.
iis it a private rental?
how many people in the household?
how many bedrooms?
0 -
Thanks for the quick replies.
£88 SSP is no way enough to cover their rent, bills, food, petrol, etc. their rent alone is £650. Seem's unfair to expect them to live off £88 a week in my opinion. Especially when both of them are off sick.
They would each have that amount though. So they'd have £176 a week.
What do they normally earn?0 -
sd i disc previously ... the SSP is to pay their bills.
they should be able to claim housing benefit ( LHA if renting privately)
there will be a deduction in the amount they can claim because you are working and will be expected to pay a fair portion of the rent yourself.
iis it a private rental?
how many people in the household?
how many bedrooms?
Yes its private rental.
3 people in the house.
3 bedrooms.0 -
Darksparkle wrote: »They would each have that amount though. So they'd have £176 a week.
What do they normally earn?
they would normally earn £750 a week between them.0 -
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a 4 weekly income of 3k between them, rent of £650 and they have no savings?
what are they spending it all on?
I'm sorry but I'm not looking for someone to judge what my parents spend their wages on. What they spend their wages on is up to them, not everybody save's their wages. This is the 3rd month of them being on SSP, in that time they would normally of received £9,000 between them, instead they have received £2112. They have managed so far but starting to struggle.
Im not asking for advice on how they can budget their normal wage, I'm asking what they can get to help them now that they are unable to work due to illness. Please stay on topic, thank you.0 -
im not judging.I'm sorry but I'm not looking for someone to judge what my parents spend their wages on. What they spend their wages on is up to them, not everybody save's their wages. This is the 3rd month of them being on SSP, in that time they would normally of received £9,000 between them, instead they have received £2112. They have managed so far but starting to struggle.
Im not asking for advice on how they can budget their normal wage, I'm asking what they can get to help them now that they are unable to work due to illness. Please stay on topic, thank you.
but as they have found out, they are entitled to very little ( possibly some help with rent, depending on how much you earn)
in future it may be prudent to put something aside to cover such periods of emergency
they need to pay priority debts ( rent council tax etc)
all other debts can be left until they return to work.
make sure they call their creditors to explain the situation and ask for a payment break/reduced payments.
I'm sorry if you don't appreciate the above budgeting help, but it is all anyone can tell you really.0 -
Given their likelihood of returning to work in the nearish future is there any mileage in having a word with the landlord to see if they will accept a reduced amount for a short time and they can make up the shortfall when back at work. They will know that your parents are good tenants and landlords can be understanding
I'm not advocating it but if there really is a problem that can't be resolved with your salary/Housing Benefit then it is an option0
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