Careers allowance

[Ric.ror]

I work for a LA and - along with many others have been served my 188 papers (I think that is what it is called) If I am to be made redundant I will be unable to claim unemployment benefit as I have two houses (my son lives in one)
As my mother is in receipt of attendance allowance will I be able to claim careers allowance for the (short - hopefully) time I am unemployed. I know the allowance is not means tested but is there some kind of excemption for people who are in a situation like mine?

[dzug2]

Have a read of this. It's carer's allowance, not careers

http://www.direct.gov...orsomeone/DG_10012525

[dzug2]

Incidentally I don't see why you are not eligible for contribution based JSA once your redundancy period ends. It's not means tested.

[Ric.ror]

Thanks for that - sorry about the surfeit of E's
I thought JSA was means tested

[bednobs]

you will only be able to claim carers allowance if you are actually caring for her! i think it's 35 hours a week. My question to you would be if you are caring for her that much now, are you already claiming it and if she needs that much care who will be doing it whaen you go back to work?

[Ric.ror]

I am not currently claiming anything

[bednobs]

As far as i remember, although it's not means tested as such, income is taken into account, so if your son pays you rent, you may have trouble

[factor-fiction]

Contribution based JSA is payable if you have paid enough NI. It's not means tested but you need to be available for work and (I was told byDWP but others have challenged this) it can be affected by other income such as pensions income (and if so maybe rental income counts as income?)

[cazzz1975]

I thought JSA was means tested? I know people who have not been able to claim it because they own property and another person couldnt claim it because he had savings.

carers allowance can be claimed if you are caring for your mother 35+ hours a week, this may be awkward if you then find another full time job.

[factor-fiction]

cazzz1976- I think you are thinking of Income Based JSA.
Contribution based JSA is around £64 a week and is paid for up to 26 weeks. It doesn't entitle you to free prescriptions etc

[cazzz1975]

oh I see, not sure what I was thinking to be honest ;)

[cazzz1975]

thanks for reducing my age by a year ;)

[Ric.ror]

I dont work full time I work 25 hours
I live with one son in one house and the other lives in my other house.
I do not have a mortgage on either houses and he pays no rent (its a building site at the moment) but he does pay me £100 per week for a loan - no contracts or anything
TBH - I just dread the thought of not having something coming weekly - however little the amount - to cover things like council tax etc

[ubasses]

Two types of JSA when I took early retirement with redundancy, I got paid virtually no questions asked as I had full NI contributions and they paid NI based allowance.Unless rules have changed in the last few years for 13 weeks they cannot force you into a job earning much less than you were previously. After 13 weeks they start pushing you to go for anything that you would be able to do. At that pint I signed myself off having decided I liked retirement.

[daffy654]

To be able to claim carer's allowance your mother would need to be in receipt of DLA care component at the middle rate or above.

[Ric.ror]

Not sure about this DLA - all I can tell you is she receives the full amount attendance allowance

[bednobs]

or AA daffy!

[maclarencat]

If your Mum lives alone she may be getting the severe disability supplement which is paid to people on the middle or higher rate who live alone. If anyone then claims carers allowance she would lose that part of her income. So before you claim make sure you know what she is receiving or she could end up out of pocket. I know because this is the situation with my Mum so I dont claim carers allowance for her even though I am looking after her.

[themas]

1. You should claim contribution based JSA - not means tested & last 6 months. But they may question the £100 p wk from your son & want to treat it an income. If it is actually to repay a loan & there is formal documentation of the loan & the repayment arrangement you might be able to get round that, but I'm not certain.

2. As has been indicated, carers allowance can be complicated. Apart from the possible implication for your mother's benefits (maclarencat covers this) if you get another job your income gets taken into account & the allowance will reduce or stop depending on how much you earn.

3. If you want advice on all this go to your local CAB.