Dementia and Benefits.

[SeanF]

Hi everyone,
This is my first post which relates to a friend who has recently been diagnosed with Binswanger dementia. My concern is that I’m not all that sure that she is being given the best advice or support on a number of things.
One matter which is pressing is the benefits that she should be receiving. She has been given an appointment with Jobcentreplus which will be this Wednesday 21 August to put her on Universal Credit.
My question is should she be having an appointment at the Jobcentreplus for UC when considering her diagnosis? She has just been medically retired from work so I would have thought that the New Style ESA would be the most likely benefit to claim for? Also should she be entitled to PIP as well?
Any advice from the community would be much appreciated.

Regards

Sean

 

[karaokePete]

Hello @SeanF you are welcome here and I hope you find the forum to be a friendly and supportive place.

I hope you have time to take a good look around the site as it is a goldmine for information. When I first joined I read old threads for information but then found the AS Publications list and the page where a post code search can be done to check for support services in ones own area. If you are interested in these, clicking the following links will take you there

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-support/publications-factsheets-full-list

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/find-support-near-you

You will see that there are Factsheets that will help with things like getting care needs assessments, deciding the level of care required and sorting out useful things like Wills, Power of Attorney, benefits etc.

I can’t answer your specific question but hope that now that you have found us you will keep posting as the membership has vast collective knowledge and experience.

 

[Kevinl]

Hi Sean, welcome to TP
I take it we are talking about someone under 65 here, the best thing might be to use the government benefit checked on the link below.
PIP and ESA are fairly new and don't affect too many people on here as not too many of us are under retirement age of caring for someone under 65.
K
https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators

 

[Spamar]

Sorry, Kevin, I get PIP and I’m well over 65. But I don’t get it for dementia, if that’s any help. I used to get DLA. That was phased out and I went to PIP, where I’ve stayed.

 

[Kevinl]

Sorry, Kevin, I get PIP and I’m well over 65. But I don’t get it for dementia, if that’s any help. I used to get DLA. That was phased out and I went to PIP, where I’ve stayed.

Fair comment, some legacy DLA recipients have moved over to PIP at over 65 but over 65's can't apply for PIP and I don't think too many on here are in Sean's friends position of applying for PIP in relation to Alzheimer's so under 65.
My wife got DLA at 55 in respect of her AZ and not too many people at the DWP seemed to have come across it before.
K

 

[canary]

My OH gets ESA and DLA (will probably get transferred to PIP soon) and we were helped enormously by Citizens Advice who helped us fill in the forms and also appeal when OH was refused ESA

 

[Shedrech]

hello @SeanF
a warm welcome to DTP
your friend is fortunate to have you looking out for her
I know little myself about benefits for those under state retirement age, though theses pages on the main AS site may help
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-support/legal-financial/how-claim-benefits

 

[SeanF]

Thank you all for the replies that you have posted.
Yes you are right in assuming that she is relatively young at 51 and therefore the benefits that she would be claiming will be the more current ones as she has never claimed disability benefits before. I have used the postcode search for finding local services which I found helpful. Unfortunately the benefits calculator is a little bit tricky as she is married and I don’t have all the information to hand. I will check through the links that you some of you provided and suggest that she try Citizens Advice for further help.

Thanks

Sean