Carer allowances

[Neffy]

I posted a while ago about my father-in-law being diagnosed with MND. His illness is progressing faster than anyone expected and he is very ill. We have been told to prepare to lose him this year.

As I mentioned before, he is living in Barbados (through marriage) but is a British citizen. His son (my partner) lives there with him but is also British. It is necessary for my FIL to have a PEG very soon - we are looking at next month - and he is having terrible trouble breathing also. He is hardly sleeping at night, instead opting for naps every now and then throughout the day.

My partner and FIL are considering whether it is better to relocate back to the UK, not only for treatment but for the foreseeable future. So my question is, what kind of carer allowance would my partner be entitled to and what is the amount that my FIL could expect in relation to his disability (he is not yet 65).

I have tried to find this information myself but it is so confusing. Would they be entitled to any other benefits jointly? Income support? Housing benefit etc?

My partner would be giving up work in Barbados to come here and there is no guarantee he would find a job here immediately (especially in the current climate) so we need to evaluate whether it is financially viable for them to be here.

I really hope someone can help me with this!

Thank you so much in advance.

Neffy

 

[Danijela]

Hi Neffy,

MND association in the UK has a link to benefits that PALS and carers may be entitled to. You an also speak to or email MND Connect (telephone number and email address on the site) who can provide further guidance.

Regards, D.

 

[Jennifer51]

uk benefits

If your law is entitled to the disability living allowance at the top rate, he will get £113.75 a week. From memory...look this up on the governemt site to be sure...I am sure there is a qualifying period and you must have lived in the uk for the past 12 months or some such rule..I know you are supposed to tell them if you will be out of the uk for 4 or more weeks, then they reduce your money. For carers allowance..we have just applied and are waiting to hear. It is based on the age of the carer, if you earn more than (£95 per week, I think) then you get nothing. If you are a pensioner looking after someone of any age, they count your pension against carers allowance. They dont count a private pension or savings..but again look at the relevant uk allowance pages and try to make sense of it. From memory both allowances have a residency limit in them. You know what it is like in the UK, dont get anything for nothing and they make it very difficult for geniune people to claim.
we have lived here all our lives, worked and paid taxes and all we get at the moment is the £113.75 a week.

 

[Jennifer51]

Neffy...sorry the above link should have said father in law....I just looked up the DLA ..the weekly amount maximum is £113.75 per week, and yes there are residency requirements, but I could not find them. I looked at the carers allowance, maximum is £50.55 pw but that is subject to a lot of other things being taken into account. If the carer is in full time education or earns over £95 per week then you get NIL. It also affects a lot of other benefits which I have had no dealings with...but I suspect most of the other benefits are means tested. Even if your income qualifies you for Carers allowance then you must have been in the UK for at least 26 weeks of the past year to get it. Not very encouraging is it. As Daniela says, go ahead and contact the mnd assoc, they may have some other ideas for you.

 

[Flowerpot]

Neffy

You couls also try contacting the International Pension Centre for further clarification - they deal with all queries and not just pension related ones. They can also put you in touch with Medical Benefits

http://www.thepensionservice.gov.uk/ipc/home.asp

Hope this helps , although I know from experience that it can be difficult to get the full range of benefits , including continuing care allowance where nursing home fees are paid , either in full or in part. This is because the assessment could be done on a day when your FIL is "ok"

Kind regards

Flowerpot