wifes mother struggling to live on 174 a week

firestarter51

right bit of a story here, the woman went part time at work to care for her dying mother, this lasted longer than we all expected, years, in which time she developed ill health herself, took early retirement due to ill health so she claimed for carers allowance.
when her mother went into nursing home, carers allowance stopped and welfare advised her to go on illness benefit, between this and her reduced company pension from going part time she is getting 174 per week, between all her bills which are high due to living alone she has been using alot of her saving to meet her needs.
what the best thing for her to do, illness benefit has been going for 14 months, and she is 62 years of age, any help would be great, she rang welfare and they said this is all she is entitled to and cant get fuel allowance

wmpdd3

Sorry I see she is living alone, this seems too low.

Could she apply for jsa and try doing a course or would this be impossible?

will she get the non contributory pension at 66?

firestarter51

yes in a 2 bed bungalow 12 miles from the nearest shop, so she is struggling with eircom ect, she doesnt want to get rid of her phone due to her house alarm and panic button working off that, i collected a form for invalidity pension, but not sure if she fulfills the criteria

firestarter51

if she applied for jsa, would she get the full amount or would it be reduced because of her 90 a week company pension

Mr McBoatface

She can change her claim to Disability allowance and not illness benifit, Illness benefit is paid at a rate based on previous earnings. Going by the figures you supplied she was earning less than 150 weekly when working and as a result only gets 84.50 on illness benefit, her 90 euro pension makes up the rest of her money.

IMO she was advised incorrectly and should have been told to apply for Disability allowance .....

Disability allowance would be paid at a rate of 188 and subject to means testing but her 90 euro pension would have little affect on that figure. Depending on the nature of her illness she could also apply for invalidy pension.

I'd be on my way to the DSP office today, I would be polite with them but I would not hide my dis-pleasure that a women who worked, gave up that job to care for a sick relative and saved the state a fortune in doing so has been treated so badly by them in return. There are plenty on folks less deserving getting much more.

You could also contact the INOW - http://www.inou.ie/ and discuss her situation with them. The will give great advise.

firestarter51

thanks, she isnt the best with these sorts of things, and when she told me that was the best she could get my wife rang the same woman trying to argue and was told the same thing, this was one of the local officers that have since been scrapped.
i didnt realise it was based on previous earnings, i assumed she was means tested, she has spent 6 k of her savings in the last year, she is a bit scared of going to her dole office as its cork city main branch, any chance she could go to a country one which is the same distance away

firestarter51

she was earning so little in the last two years of work due to working 5 days over 10 to look after her mother when she wasnt too bad

Mr McBoatface

IMO the best thing would be to accompany your mother-in-law to the welfare office. Explain the situation and that you feel she was mis-advised in the first place (it helps to have it all written down on paper they mind can draw a blank when dealing with them).

Fill out an application for disability allowance and submit it straight away. Then ask the welfare office where her HSE Community welfare officer is based. The community welfare officer can issue an payment equal to the disability rate until her claim is approved.

I wouldn't be afraid to involve a local TD or councilor, what ever you think of politicians they do not like to see older deserving people left wanting un-necessarily and they can make a few phone calls to speed things along, just be polite and have all the facts ready for them.

Let us know how you get on.

firestarter51

thanks very much for your help

Gatling

Expect up to 12 month wait and a refusal if applying for disability ,

firestarter51

Gatling wrote: »

Expect up to 12 month wait and a refusal if applying for disability ,

why a refusal ?

Gatling

firestarter51 wrote: »

why a refusal ?

It seems to be a common occurrence for the last 12 months ,
There been a lot of people with full medical history of a illness been refused, its got really difficult to get ,
I know its not what people want to hear just a heads up

Baked.noodle

I'm not sure if it will help but I would advise her to talk to her GP. He can give her a medical report. I was on Illness Benefit for about five months before I got Disability. I was refused Disability on my first application, due to being eligible for Illness Benefit.

LegacyUser

She could try go to the Community Welfare Officer for a top up on her Illness Benefit while waiting for a decision on DA.

blondie990

firestarter51 wrote: »

yes in a 2 bed bungalow 12 miles from the nearest shop, so she is struggling with eircom ect, she doesnt want to get rid of her phone due to her house alarm and panic button working off that, i collected a form for invalidity pension, but not sure if she fulfills the criteria

firestarter, I might be able to get my hands on a letter a person received refusing invalidity pension and I'm pretty sure it sets out the criteria that this person couldn't meet. I will try to locate it tomorrow and send you a pm, it might give you a better idea of what she is entitled to.

mrsbyrne

firestarter51 wrote: »

why a refusal ?

Her own GP stating she is permanently unfit for work andher then applying would not be any garauntee ofsuccess. I dont know why you would think that.

firestarter51

mrsbyrne wrote: »

Her own GP stating she is permanently unfit for work andher then applying would not be any garauntee ofsuccess. I dont know why you would think that.

That's not what i was implying buy asking why to expect a refusal, I understand each case is treated on an individual basis, it's just when I was told to expect a refusal I just asked why

Gatling

firestarter51 wrote: »

That's not what i was implying buy asking why to expect a refusal, I understand each case is treated on an individual basis, it's just when I was told to expect a refusal I just asked why

For the last 12- 18 months disability payments and in some cases invalidity pensions have been impossible to get in some cases on here people with severe illnesses have been refused, even one chap who had a triple bypass was refused disability recently ,

Help her apply but expect a long drawn out process that might not turn out how expected

rock chic

Gatling wrote: »

For the last 12- 18 months disability payments and in some cases invalidity pensions have been impossible to get in some cases on here people with severe illnesses have been refused, even one chap who had a triple bypass was refused disability recently ,

Help her apply but expect a long drawn out process that might not turn out how expected

my son who has auitism/learning disabilities , deafness and dyspraxia was refused at 1st but recieved it on review its happening to every1 and please make sure doctors report is detailed good luck

wmpdd3

I know of an amputee who was refused and then got it. Its all down to the was the medical evidence is portrayed. The first set of letters apparently gave hope that new prosthetics may lead to a return to work.

OP apply, you MIL can't afford not to.

anto9

Euro 174 per week is good money if she is not paying rent ? Does she drink and smoke ?

firestarter51

she doesnt drink or smoke, but the bills are high for single person, esb and heating alone is 50 before she lights a fire