I was hit with a massive bill to pay back benefits despite caring for my son
A SINGLE mother has been left “terrified” after getting a demand to repay £1,623 in benefits she received for caring for her son.
Elizabeth was told by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that she must repay the sum after it was found she had received too much in carer’s allowance.
She received the benefit to support her while caring for her son, Oliver, 20, who has complex needs and Down’s Syndrome.
But Elizabeth is now one of tens of thousands forced to pay back huge sums after unknowingly breaching the rules, which have been described as unfairly complicated.
Carer’s allowance is paid to those providing at least 35 hours of unpaid care a week, in most cases to disabled or sick relatives.
It is currently paid at a weekly rate of £81.90 and anyone on the benefit is allowed to have a second income from a job.
However, you can’t earn more than £151 a week, or you lose all of your benefit allowance.
This is a different approach to other benefits, like Universal Credit, which has a tapered approach to earnings so that those who do work don’t lose all of their money at once.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which pays the benefit, also looks to get any overpaid benefits back.
Elizabeth, who was a full-time carer for Oliver, was forced to find shifts as a supply teacher when her husband David was diagnosed with cancer.
The family depended on his income, but he became too ill for work, meaning Elizabeth had to find other forms of income to support her family.
She cared for both Oliver and David, until he died in 2018.
Elizabeth believed she stayed within the earnings threshold set by the DWP but she was shocked when she was informed she had exceeded it.
She told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “To be hit with that bill was just awful.
“There is no compassion, and I think that is where the issue is – there is no consideration for your circumstances.”
Elizabeth has had her carer’s allowance removed and has been told by the DWP that she won’t be able to claim it again in the future.
What is carer's allowance?
CARER'S allowance is a UK benefit designed to help people who have caring responsibilities for more than 35 hours each week.
Those eligible get £81.90 a week paid directly into bank accounts.
To qualify, the person you care for must already get one of these benefits:
- Personal independence payment (PIP) – daily living component
- Disability living allowance – the middle or highest care rate
- Attendance allowance
- Constant attendance allowance at or above the normal maximum rate with an Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
- Constant attendance allowance at the basic (full day) rate with a war disablement pension
- Armed forces independence payment
You don’t have to be related to the person or live with them to apply.
But if you share caring responsibilities with someone else, only one of you can make a claim.
The type of care you provide can vary, but includes things such as helping with washing or cooking, taking the person to medical appointments or helping out with household tasks such as shopping or organising bills.
To get the benefit, you must also meet a certain set of criteria:
- You must be 16 or over
- You have to spend at least 35 hours a week caring for someone
- You need to have been in England, Scotland or Wales for at least two of the last three years (this does not apply if you’re a refugee or have humanitarian protection status)
- You must normally live in England, Scotland or Wales or live abroad as a member of the armed forces (you might still be eligible if you’re moving to or already living in an EEA country or Switzerland)
- You cannot be in full-time education
- You must not be studying for 21 hours a week or more
- You cannot be subject to immigration control
- You will also have to meet certain earnings criteria in order to get the benefit.
Your earnings must also be £151 or less a week after tax, National Insurance and expenses.
You can apply for the carer’s allowance online by visiting www.gov.uk/carers-allowance/how-to-claim.
She said she has been left “terrified” for her financial future.
The Sun had contacted the DWP for comment.
New figures revealed that in 2022-23, 26,700 carers were asked to repay sums relating to earnings breaches.
More than 800 were repaying sums between £5,000 and £20,000, and 36 were repaying more than £20,000
There’s no time limit on how far back the DWP can go to spot erroneous carer’s allowance payments and demand money back.
It comes after a single mother from North Wales was left in tears after a demand to repay thousands of pounds she received while caring for her disabled daughter.
The parents of a teenager who had to give up work to stay at their dying daughter’s bedside have been told to pay back £8,000.
Meanwhile, a dad who looks after his ill son had to sell his home to pay back £20,000 in carer’s allowance after ticking the wrong box on a form.
What to do if you breach the earnings limit
If you breach the £151 earnings limit, you should try and proactively report it to the DWP as it is classed as a change in circumstances.
You can report any change in circumstances online via the Government’s website.
But you’ll need your National Insurance (NI) number to hand, details of the person you’re caring for and details of the change.
If you have been overpaid carer’s allowance, you will have to pay it back in full or in instalments via the DWP Debt Management platform.
This is also on the Government’s website.
If you don’t do this, the DWP can take deductions from your work salary, or even pass your case on to a debt collector.
If you don’t engage with the debt collector, it may then take your case to the county courts.
You can dispute an overpayment if you don’t agree with it, but you’ll need evidence as to why you claim not to have overpaid.
You can do this through what’s known as a “mandatory reconsideration,” which you can submit to the DWP online, by phone, or by letter.
The decision letter you receive from the DWP will contain the specific contact details to which you need to send correspondence.
Once the DWP has received your mandatory reconsideration, you will receive a “mandatory reconsideration notice” informing you whether it has changed its decision.
If you disagree with that outcome, you can appeal to the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal.
A judge will listen to both sides of the argument before making a decision.
Are you missing out on benefits?
YOU can use a benefits calculator to help check that you are not missing out on money you are entitled to
Charity Turn2Us’ benefits calculator works out what you could get.
Entitledto’s free calculator determines whether you qualify for various benefits, tax credit and Universal Credit.
MoneySavingExpert.com and charity StepChange both have benefits tools powered by Entitledto’s data.
You can use Policy in Practice’s calculator to determine which benefits you could receive and how much cash you’ll have left over each month after paying for housing costs.
Your exact entitlement will only be clear when you make a claim, but calculators can indicate what you might be eligible for.
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