Now that Karen is home, the thorny question of benefits arises.
My civil service pension (Now well overdue- thanks Capita) will shortly start to pay out, and when it does then my ESA will be cut, so I sort of know where I stand with my own situation, but what about Karen?
She was self-employed, so I assume she would be entitled to ESA? Or is it universal credit these days? And what about PiP? I know I can’t claim carers allowance unless she gets that, so that’s out of the question at the moment.
Any thoughts or suggestions as to how I approach this would be very gratefully received.
Sorry, can’t help. I would suggest going to an advice agency - CAB; disability rights; union if she’s a member or your council may have an advice centre.
You should be able to claim Attendance Allowance as long as you are prepared to fill in an enormous form asking many many questions! My husband who is my carer claims that fir looking after me and Im not on any benefits. Not an enormous amount but worth the effort
I would advise speaking to citizens Advice too. I would start the process for PIP / AttendanceAllowance depending on age as it takes a while and make sure you get help filling in the form. Self employed don’t always get same benefit entitlement as employed but she should be entitled to some form of sick pay.
As for Civil Service pensions right now. What a shambles !!
I imagine she’ll go on UC plus incapacity benefits at first, and then depending on her needs, maybe apply for PIP which is a whole world of challenges. Incapacity benefits last for two years, I think, and then are reviewed. It might be different if you are in England as I am in Wales. I think you can apply for carer’s allowance if Karen is on incapacity benefits. Once again, my knowledge comes from what is policy in Wales, not sure about England or Scotland, and government policy on these kinds of things is currently being evolved behind closed doors, so the sooner you look into it, the better.
If she hasn’t reached retirement age PIP might be possible but I agree with others who suggested citizens advice. I am on it for another problem and there was someone who specialised in PIP and filled in the forms for us. It is not an easy benefit to get
There has been some very good advice already on this would follow the advice given - even though you are retired from the civil service are you still entitled to union support.
CAB are good as mentioned usually some one is a bit more versed in benefits , for my dad we used these both and were sent to the local welfare advice charity, they were immense sorted every argument, pitfall in days rather than months. Only other thing to add is go in well informed with as much support as you can gather. Good luck.
My GP surgery has a Social Prescriber, who can help you with claiming the right benefits and even helps you fill out forms correctly. If they’re not based at the surgery, they can put you in touch. They weren’t around after I had my stroke (more’s the pity) because things would have been much easier. Completing the right forms correctly is crucial.
To be able to claim contribution based ESA she would need to have paid NI for the previous 2 years. And definitely clai PIP. The forms are complicated so I’d recommend getting someone to fill them in for you. I used the local council’s benefits advice service. They know the terminology to use and the things to include when applying for benefits.