How would possible inconsistent income affects my benefits

JimmyB105

Hi

My wife has cerebral palsy, she can not walk, is a permanent wheelchair user and has been assesed and is not able to drive.

We met 26 years ago at school and we've been married for 8 years, We have a lovley 4 year old son. 

Over the last few years her health has worsened and i am now her full time carer. She has been really upset recently and says she feels usless and feels she doesnt add anything to our family, and feels more like a burden than a wife. It breaks my heart and i keep telling her she is a wonderful mum and wife and that she is adored by me and our son. 

She said she wishes she could have a part time job where she can earn some money and get back some self worth. I've been looking for something that we can do and i've seen an Emporium near us where you can hire a section of the shop, leave you items there and they sell them for you.

We regularly visit local furniture/brick-a-brak auctions and charity shops and were thinking we could buy some old furniture and bits and bobs, put them in the shop and see what happens.

The only thing is we don't know how it will it affect our benifit. We receive PIP, Income support and carers allowance. 

The worry is because the sales are so variable we could sell £200 one month but sell nothing the next, it's so unpredictably. 

How would this affect our Benifits? What should we say to DWP?

Thanks

[Deleted User]

JimmyB105
Thats great .....just be upfront with the Dwp and they will1 advise you on the times something may /maynot sell

Mwila_Scope

Hi @JimmyB105
Welcome to online Community and thank you for your post. 
Congratulations on the 8 years of marriage!

Firstly in terms of the Personal Independent Payment (PIP) this is not means tested and therefore working-be it part time or full time- would not affect your PIP payments. however you need to be aware that work can affect the points you score in  your pip assessment if you were ever reassessed. 

In terms of the Income support, you should ideally be working on average less than 16 hours a week. however anyone who is treated as a carer for income support purpose is able to claim regardless of the numbers of hours. i would therefore advise you to carry out  a benefits calculation Here to find out exactly how this would affect you. 

In terms of Carers Allowance, your earnings should not exceed £120 week. this is not means tested either but your earnings might affect your entitlement. again i would recommend you carry out a benefits calculation to find out exactly how this would affect you or try and make an appointment with the DWP to speak to one of the advisor.

Hope that helps 

BenefitsTrainingCo

Hi @JimmyB105 

I would echo what Mwila says and add that there is a £20 earnings disregard for claimants in the circumstances you describe. This means that you can earn up to £20 a week without your benefit being affected but any amount over £20 would be deducted from your income support £ for £. For example, if you earned £40 a week, £20 would be deducted from your income support.

Best wishes

Paul