The Ten Point Lesson in Benefits!
Dear all,
What did I press that made me lose everything?
Nice to see so many well-informed people. Thought I would just summarise it all into one email, please correct me if wrong or add to it if I have missed anything. I am talking over 65s, not sure if any of this applies to younger persons.
It turned out to be Eleven Points!
1. Most people with AD will be classed by the council as "severely mentally impaired" and get a complete council tax "Disregard" if living alone. Not sure if not living alone.
2. Most people with AD will qualify for some level of Attendance Allowance, the highest rate is £64.50 for day and night care needed. THINK. Does your relative try to wander? Does she need reassurance in the night? Does she need a flask of tea? Does she ever phone you in the night? Think of the worst day, not the average.
3. Attendance Allowance is tax free and not means-tested.
4. Clive, not sure about the statement that you cannot get it before you apply. Bow to your better knowledge. But they do have to have needed care for 6 months before they will pay it. THINK HARD. When did mum first go to the doctor? When did she first show signs of not being able to count her money at the supermarket and you had to do it for her? Let's not be daft, some of it could be just "old age" but if she is now diagnosed with dementia, it was due to dementia. Put the earliest reasonable date that you can. Or maybe it wasn't you helping her, but a neighbour. Amanda, it is not a bit cheeky at all, you get precious little help from the government for all the thousands you pay in, you are ENTITLED to it.
5. Getting AA may entitle your relly to "Guarantee Pension Credit", and if already getting it, could be a higher rate. If they are also entitled to some "Savings credit" you will find that goes up too, cos they don't make the normal deduction of 40p in the pound for savings above a certain amount. Mum ended up with an extra £48 a week.
6. Getting Guarantee Credit entitles them to free dental treatment, or at least to some extent. Not gone down that route yet.
7. Getting Guarantee Credit is usually for a fixed period - an "Assessed Income Period", which means you don't have to tell them about any changes in income during that time - which can be as long as 5 years.
8. Be prepared for several contradictory letters - she is/is not/is/is not entitled. Be prepared for the three departments - DWP, AA, Pension Credit to fail to communicate with one another. Be prepared for lots of phone calls (they seem to respond better to phone calls than to letters), and be prepared for lots of forms to fill in that are largely unintelligible.
9. Even if you have POA, the DWP will want to register you as an Apppointee to deal with you rather than your relly. That sometimes entails a visit to you, and to your relly. I argued against it as I had POA and I thought it would upset my mum if they visited. They agreed to that. Once I got their agreement I had no problem (except they sent her Winter Fuel Payment to the wrong address). Oh, and get the address on record changed to yours.
10. Be prepared for them to make mistakes. Mum was granted AA, they paid a backdated lump sum of a useful £600 (paid for 9 days in the care home!), paid it for two weeks direct into her account - then stopped! No advance warning, no later warning, it wasn't till I checked her bank statement to make sure there was enough for the next month's fees that I realised there had been no AA for 4 weeks! 10 phone calls told me it had not been approved (I had the confirmation letter in front of me), she was not entitled to it and what we had been paid would have to be Re-paid, it was a mistake and would be rectified immediately, it was not a mistake and DWP said the AA people had told them to stop paying it, "on what grounds?" I ask, we don't know, we havent got the paperwork here. Paperwork?
11. If in a care home and self-funding, all the above applies. If in a care home and NOT self-funding AA is not payable. It is also not payable for certain periods if in hospital. I think it is only payable for the first four weeks while in hospital, then it stops.
Hope this helps to summarise.
Margaret