Struggling with sorting benefits and being a carer
Options
AnniC
Community member Posts: 4 Listener
Hi there I am a carer for my husband who has athritis in his spine. He struggles daily with everything. He has had his ESA stopped and we have put a claim in for PIP. I'm at the end of my tether with this
Comments
-
I am also at my wits end as i am always tired and in pain all over we have a 1 year old son aswell and iy just drains the life out of me looking after both of them
-
Hi @AnniC and a warm welcome , i am so sorry that you are having a hard time .i bet you are worn out , not a easy job looking after a family but i think you are doing well,
-
Hi @AnniC welcome to the community!
Sorry to hear this, this sounds very stressful for you. What stage are you at with the PIP application process?Disability Gamechanger - 2019 -
@Ami2301 we have just sent it back to them so in limbo waiting for an outcome
-
Waiting time can vary depending on their backlog. I waited about 8 weeks for a F2F assessmentDisability Gamechanger - 2019
-
Wow that is ridiculous what do they expect us to do for money in the meantime. This government have a lot to answer for
-
AnniC
It sounds as if you could do with some benefits advice. Are you challenging the ESA decision? Do you know why it stopped? (Was it the result of an assessment?) It might be worth asking for a mandatory reconsideration, where you ask the DWP to look at it again.
I don't know all your circumstances so it's difficult to advise further but I would say it's worth challenging the ESA decision (unless it just stopped because your husband was in the work-related activity group, he's had contributory ESA for a year and there's a reason you can't get the income-related form...).
Hopefully PIP will be awarded; if it is, and your husband gets any rate of the daily living component, you can claim carer's allowance for yourself and get that backdated (if you're not earning more than £120 a week).
There might be other benefits you can claim too but one thing I'd be concerned about is whether universal credit (UC) has started in your area - it's hard to advise on this without knowing more about what has happened to your husband's ESA (it may be better to challenge that decision instead of claiming UC, but it will depend on the circumstances). I also don't know if you are getting Child Tax Credit (CTC) for your son.
If you can provide more detail there are people on the forum who can help, or you could try the benefit calculator - but definitely get more advice before making any claim for UC.
WillThe Benefits Training Co:
Brightness
Categories
- All Categories
- 13K Start here and say hello!
- 6.6K Coffee lounge
- 69 Games lounge
- 385 Cost of living
- 4.3K Disability rights and campaigning
- 1.9K Research and opportunities
- 199 Community updates
- 9.2K Talk about your situation
- 2.1K Children, parents, and families
- 1.6K Work and employment
- 768 Education
- 1.7K Housing and independent living
- 1.4K Aids, adaptations, and equipment
- 586 Dating, sex, and relationships
- 363 Exercise and accessible facilities
- 737 Transport and travel
- 31.6K Talk about money
- 4.4K Benefits and financial support
- 5.2K Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- 17.1K PIP, DLA, and AA
- 4.9K Universal Credit (UC)
- 6.2K Talk about your impairment
- 1.8K Cerebral palsy
- 869 Chronic pain and pain management
- 180 Physical and neurological impairments
- 1.1K Autism and neurodiversity
- 1.2K Mental health and wellbeing
- 317 Sensory impairments
- 818 Rare, invisible, and undiagnosed conditions
Do you need advice on your energy costs?
Scope’s Disability Energy Support service is open to any disabled household in England or Wales in which one or more disabled people live. You can get free advice from an expert adviser on managing energy debt, switching tariffs, contacting your supplier and more. Find out more information by visiting our
Disability Energy Support webpage.