Punished for being a couple!

[MarieS]

Hi all,

But of a rant i suppose....
My husband receives DLA and ESA and I recieve carers allowance of around £68 a week I believe? Although I am only allowed to keep £20 a week because the rest comes out of the ESA as carers allowance is an earning.
I wish I could return to work but I cant as my husband relys on me for help (he receives middle care rate) We have 2 children and struggle financially, watching the penny's.

Recently we got speaking to others in a similar health position and started discussing finances. Because one is on his own, no partner. He receives 1800 social care and also ILF payments in the thousands a year. How is that fair!? He went to Vegas last year! And Cyprus this year! Obvious he needs the support and I'm not blaming him, I'm blaming the system. I save the government thousands a year by caring for my husband yet get a measly £20 a week

Anyone else feel this way?

[Scally]

Sure. The system is totally f*cked up, broken.
I'm a Green and we do have a solution, which is to scrap the whole rotten system and introduce a citizens income for all. This will help stimulate the economy by redistributing wealth from those who squirrel it into offshore trusts onto people who will spend it on essentials. Vote Green ... and in the meantime, do write to your local MP to complain.

SW200 In so far as it is possible to remedy social problems purely by financial means, the Green Party's Citizen's Income (see Economy), when implemented will enable people to have a more flexible approach to work, retirement and caring for others.

SW201 CI is designed to cover the basic needs of an able-bodied person. Since 1979 the level of benefits for the able-bodied has fallen well below this level; consequently the supplements necessary to bring payments for those with disabilities or health problems up to an adequate level are considerably larger that they will need to be in conjunction with CI when that is fully implemented.

http://www.citizensincome.org/
http://policy.greenparty.org.uk/sw.html

[crocus]

Im totally bemused by this, I dont understand it at all.
Lots of couples receive full Carers Allowance. You only get reduced CA if the carer gets ESA as well as the CA, because its the carers income that counts. AFAIK it shouldnt be considered as a couple.

https://www.carersuk.org/help-and-advic ... -allowance

I would contact the carersUK helpline as this really doesnt sound right.

https://www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/talk-to-us

[MarieS]

It is a joint ESA claim which is why my CA is reduced. Regardless of that the amounts an individual gets compared to a couple is what bothers me. I do all the things a paid PA would do for £20 a week. A PA gets payments of around £10 per hour paid for by the ILF which an individual recieves-up to £495 a week!! As well as their other benefits.

[caravanj]

Sure. The system is totally f*cked up, broken.
I'm a Green and we do have a solution, which is to scrap the whole rotten system and introduce a citizens income for all. This will help stimulate the economy by redistributing wealth from those who squirrel it into offshore trusts onto people who will spend it on essentials. Vote Green ... and in the meantime, do write to your local MP to complain.

Thus removing any incentive to work / study hard & become a high-earning achiever.

My daughter's high-rate taxes already probably support 2 dole families, how many more would the Greens like her to support before she leaves the UK for Canada or Australia?

The benefits system is only broken because of the fraudster element & those who want something for nothing.

[Scally]

The benefits system is only broken because of the fraudster element & those who want something for nothing.

Basic income security is essential for anyone: as carers and the millions of unemployed know all too well, and neither CA nor Jobseekers allowance are adequate to sustain a civilised life.
Fraud represents a tiny fraction of welfare, whilst tax dodging by the wealthy is absolutely massive.
Whose side are you on?

[Bernard]

I have seen over the years that a person that has claimed all she or he can all their lives. In other words never actually worked for a living they get more out of the system. In other words the social services makes sure they are not bullied. As for the person that becomes disabled (not their fault and I respect that). We sort of get bullied into a section that hounds us, by this we can't do this or that as a carer. In my mind we should all be made the same, all those that have worked the system since birth, should take the hassle and the ups and downs as we. Yes I'm the husband (carer) wife MS (41 years).
Bernard.

[Petal]

Bernard I totally agree with you, i know folks on benefits and get DLA/PIP for years and get alsorts, and then when the likes of us... that have worked and contributed into the system are put through the mill coz we don't play the system and are too flipping honest, Grrrr it really does annoy me, and being a wife carer to husband with early onset dementia with lewy bodies is even worse being a relatively new recognised disease. I dispair of our future.

[Heather_1501]

I on a joint esa claim for hubby
We get £170 every 2 weeks and then my 61 each week

Is that wa u get ?

[carol_1412]

I can totally see where you're coming from as the has happened to us. Until a year ago I still managed to work a few hours a day 3 times a week. After Ks MS took yet another turn for the worse I made the decision to stop work altogether, move in and claim Carers allowance. I made the call to DWP to explain the situation and ask what it would mean in terms of income from ESA. I was told that if I claimed Carers allowance his 'severe disablement' allowance would stop and as a couple the claim would go up by £20. By moving in with him though it meant that his 25% council tax discount ended so that ate into any increase in money.
I've been contemplating enquiring about DLA to see if he qualifies for the highest rate rather than middle but I keep putting it off as I'm scared they'll want to transfer it over to PIP.