Bump for Ella...I have no idea, sorry.

I dont know for sure how it works but I thought no matter what money was coming into the house made no difference, I get Disability Allowance and any other income I receive would not affect that allowance, but I have read somewhere on here it may all change ,but I never read it all as it was to long a read.

Thanks Shaks

Marguerita....I have no idea either and I saw teh last Carers Allowance thread so was scared to even ask here

quote:

Originally posted by Ella:
Thanks Shaks

Marguerita....I have no idea either and I saw teh last Carers Allowance thread so was scared to even ask here

Hi Ella I never read that thread I kept away from it altogether,I hope it all gets sorted out for you it may help if you phone them and say you dont quite understand and could they explain what is happening thats what I would do good luck

When I was on Carers Allowance for looking after my brother and then my mother (she died in 2000) I was getting Income Support and the CA was in addition to that.
They can take a long time to get things into place and they do sometimes make mistakes.
According to the Direct Gov website,
"If you receive certain other benefits including the State Pension which are paid at a rate that is the same or more than Carer's Allowance, you may not receive payment of Carer's Allowance but may have what is called an 'underlying entitlement'.

Payment of Carer's Allowance is taken into account in full in the calculation of income-related benefits and Pension Credit.

If you receive Carer's Allowance or have underlying entitlement to it, you will qualify for the carer premium in Income Support and income-based Jobseeker's Allowance. The current rate is £29.50 per week.

If you get Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit, the local council will include an amount for the carer premium when they work out how much Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit you can get.

Claiming Carer's Allowance can also affect the amount of Pension Credit you receive. If you get Pension Credit, the amount used to work out how much you are entitled to is increased by £29.50."


I think that a phone call to them would help you, the number should be on the letter they sent you to say you are entitled to CA.

quote:

Originally posted by Marguerita:

quote:

Originally posted by Ella:
Thanks Shaks

Marguerita....I have no idea either and I saw teh last Carers Allowance thread so was scared to even ask here

Hi Ella I never read that thread I kept away from it altogether,I hope it all gets sorted out for you it may help if you phone them and say you dont quite understand and could they explain what is happening thats what I would do good luck

I will ring them as soon as I get my hearing back I've gone deaf in one ear and can't hear too much so I know I won't be able to understand anything they tell me. I know a few years back they paid any money that you were owed from the date you applied to teh date it was all sorted out but doesn't seem to be the norm anymore.

Blackpud....thanks for that.

The only thing I don't understand is how when my payments do start it will be more than what I was getting on I.S so how can they say it's the same amount thereofre don't owe me anything. Don't get me wrong, I'm just glad that they have finally sorted it out but I just wasn't impressed with the 'we owe you over 500 quid but we wont be giving you that' Chris Tarrant type of approach

If you want to email them the address is included here
Carer's Allowance Unit

*
Contact point
Carer's Allowance Unit
*
Address
Palatine House
Lancaster Road
Preston
Lancashire
PR1 1HB
*
Phone number
01253 856 123
*
Text phone
01772 562 202
*
Fax
01772 899 354
*
Email address
cau.customer-services@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
*
Opening Hours
Monday to Thursday 8.30 am and 5.00 pm, Friday 8.30 am and 4.30 pm (phone)

quote:

Originally posted by Marguerita:
I dont know for sure how it works but I thought no matter what money was coming into the house made no difference, I get Disability Allowance and any other income I receive would not affect that allowance, but I have read somewhere on here it may all change ,but I never read it all as it was to long a read.

I get DLA too Marguerita but it is not means tested so doesn`t affect anything else, I think Carer`s Allowance is means tested towards other benefits but if it is being paid on top of IS now I can`t see why it isn`t backdated. My husband got carer`s allowance for me but since he died I now get an extra severe disability payment attached to my Incapacity benefit as I now live alone and no-one cares for me.

You must be entitled to the Carer's Premium which may be added on to your IS (that is what happened to me) and it should be backdated.
Perhaps they mean that you will be paid through your IS payment rather than a separate CA payment.
You may get a Giro soon!!!
These departments can be pretty thick at times but persevere and a call or visit to your local Citizen's Advice Bureau may be helpful too.

quote:

Originally posted by Ella:
I don't really understand this and I know some people here recieve CA so thought this would be a good place to ask. I applied for it in June and got a letter at the end of July to say I was eligible and they would write to me when it had all been sorted out. Just got a letter to say that yes I was eligible from the dat in June and that they owed me £80 but they wouldn't be paying me it because I was receiving Income Support during that time. Is that right? They can just do that? They will start paying me from next week on top of my I.S but for some reason they say any money I would have got from June to now they can keep? And does it usually take so long fro writing to say yes you are eligible to them actually sorting out payments?

Sorry if I've confused anyone but I'm completly confused myself.

These are the rates of carers allowance at present.

£53.10 Personal Rate benefit
£31.70 Increase for a spouse, partner or other adult dependant
£ 8.20 Increase for eldest/only child dependent
£11.35 for each subsequent dependent child


If you claim Income support and that rate is more than the Carers Allowance that would have been paid had Income Support not been in payment then all you would qualify for would be the carers premium. Income Support is classed as an Overlapping Benefit for Carers Allowance purposes. They say you are entitled to Carers Allowance though so that gives you an underlying entitlement but they can't pay it because you are in receipt of Income Support. and therefore eligible for the Carers Premium also because you are getting income Support.

However Carers Premium also takes into account any overlapping benefits you might have, such as Income Support.

So they add up how much Invalid Care Allowance you are entitled to and how much Carers Premium.
If Income Support exceeds that amount i don't think you'll get anything.

If Income Support is less than the Carers Allowance and the Carers premium you will get the difference paid with your Income Support.

That's my understanding of it anyway ella.

Here is a link for you about the rates and so on.

mation/a-z_of_benefits/carers_allowance.htm

sorry that link didn't work, i'll try another.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Ca...yMatters/DG_10012522

Penelope thanks for explaining that. Will have a good look through that link now to try to get to grips with it.

Ok ella, hope you get it sorted.

quote:

Originally posted by jeppa:

quote:

Originally posted by Marguerita:
I dont know for sure how it works but I thought no matter what money was coming into the house made no difference, I get Disability Allowance and any other income I receive would not affect that allowance, but I have read somewhere on here it may all change ,but I never read it all as it was to long a read.

I get DLA too Marguerita but it is not means tested so doesn`t affect anything else, I think Carer`s Allowance is means tested towards other benefits but if it is being paid on top of IS now I can`t see why it isn`t backdated. My husband got carer`s allowance for me but since he died I now get an extra severe disability payment attached to my Incapacity benefit as I now live alone and no-one cares for me.

Hi jeppa its awful when you are on your own and you need help I hope you are coping okay I feel more vulnerable since my husband passed away and dont tend to care about myself anymore, I am so sorry you have nobody to care for you being on this forum has helped me so much as I never feel lonely being on here,I know you feel the same as I do there are lovely people on here that do care, we have this forum its a great community to be part of take care

quote:

Originally posted by Marguerita:

quote:

Originally posted by jeppa:

quote:

Originally posted by Marguerita:
I dont know for sure how it works but I thought no matter what money was coming into the house made no difference, I get Disability Allowance and any other income I receive would not affect that allowance, but I have read somewhere on here it may all change ,but I never read it all as it was to long a read.

I get DLA too Marguerita but it is not means tested so doesn`t affect anything else, I think Carer`s Allowance is means tested towards other benefits but if it is being paid on top of IS now I can`t see why it isn`t backdated. My husband got carer`s allowance for me but since he died I now get an extra severe disability payment attached to my Incapacity benefit as I now live alone and no-one cares for me.

Hi jeppa its awful when you are on your own and you need help I hope you are coping okay I feel more vulnerable since my husband passed away and dont tend to care about myself anymore, I am so sorry you have nobody to care for you being on this forum has helped me so much as I never feel lonely being on here,I know you feel the same as I do there are lovely people on here that do care, we have this forum its a great community to be part of take care

Thanks, you`re right about not caring, sometimes I feel as if I`m just marking time now till it`s my turn. When we moved over here I was determined to get involved more and I am gradually doing it, at the same time Deegs told me I would like you as we were both in the same position and missing our husbands massively, it`s lovely to speak to you

quote:

Originally posted by jeppa:

quote:

Originally posted by Marguerita:

quote:

Originally posted by jeppa:

quote:

Originally posted by Marguerita:
I dont know for sure how it works but I thought no matter what money was coming into the house made no difference, I get Disability Allowance and any other income I receive would not affect that allowance, but I have read somewhere on here it may all change ,but I never read it all as it was to long a read.

I get DLA too Marguerita but it is not means tested so doesn`t affect anything else, I think Carer`s Allowance is means tested towards other benefits but if it is being paid on top of IS now I can`t see why it isn`t backdated. My husband got carer`s allowance for me but since he died I now get an extra severe disability payment attached to my Incapacity benefit as I now live alone and no-one cares for me.

Hi jeppa its awful when you are on your own and you need help I hope you are coping okay I feel more vulnerable since my husband passed away and dont tend to care about myself anymore, I am so sorry you have nobody to care for you being on this forum has helped me so much as I never feel lonely being on here,I know you feel the same as I do there are lovely people on here that do care, we have this forum its a great community to be part of take care

Thanks, you`re right about not caring, sometimes I feel as if I`m just marking time now till it`s my turn. When we moved over here I was determined to get involved more and I am gradually doing it, at the same time Deegs told me I would like you as we were both in the same position and missing our husbands massively, it`s lovely to speak to you

Its lovely to speak to you too

For jeppa and Marge,

please never never never think that no-one cares about you




Because you have friends right here on this forum

quote:

Originally posted by squiggle:
For jeppa and Marge,

please never never never think that no-one cares about you




Because you have friends right here on this forum

Thank you squiggle its lovely being on here and being part of this community I love it

quote:

Originally posted by squiggle:
For jeppa and Marge,

please never never never think that no-one cares about you




Because you have friends right here on this forum

thanks Squiggle, there are some lovely people on here and it does give my mind something else to think about.

Marge and jeppa, sometimes it is hard for me to lift my chin off the floor too. We all feel down sometimes but the next bit of sunshine peeping in through the window, the next rainbow, seeing a child laughing, these are all the things that keep you going, and of course whatever are the things in life that cheer YOU up.

I mentioned it on this forum at the time but when I watched a TV programme (Extreme Makeover Home Edition) which featured this little guy born with every bone in his body broken because of brittle bone disease. Never reaching more than the height of a toddler all his life and still smiling, it made me feel about as big as an ant. Its that sort of thing that helps us gain a perspective isn't it? And I'm keeping a constant look-out for when that programme is repeated so as many as possible can watch it too.

quote:

Originally posted by squiggle:
Marge and jeppa, sometimes it is hard for me to lift my chin off the floor too. We all feel down sometimes but the next bit of sunshine peeping in through the window, the next rainbow, seeing a child laughing, these are all the things that keep you going, and of course whatever are the things in life that cheer YOU up.

I mentioned it on this forum at the time but when I watched a TV programme (Extreme Makeover Home Edition) which featured this little guy born with every bone in his body broken because of brittle bone disease. Never reaching more than the height of a toddler all his life and still smiling, it made me feel about as big as an ant. Its that sort of thing that helps us gain a perspective isn't it? And I'm keeping a constant look-out for when that programme is repeated so as many as possible can watch it too.

It is so true its programs like this that puts everything into perspective