Have you been affected by the child benefit cut?

[OwlLady]

My dh earns just over the threshold but I don't or rather can't work at all because of having a severely disabled daughter. aibu to send David Cameron a spreadsheet detailing my contribution? seeing as I have opted out of claiming as he says, I quote "I'm not saying those people are rich, but I think it is right that they make a contribution"

as a sahm and carer of a severely disabled child who I will have to care for into my old age I am absolutely incensed by this comment. So should I as a Mother and carer detail via a spreadsheet how much I save the economy by caring for my daughter and then ask him to join me on newsnight to explain what contribution he feels I and people like me are not making?

was anyone else annoyed by this?

(and btw this is not a woe is me, I think I am so poor thread just a how bloody DARE he)

[Sunnymeg]

I can see where you are comimg from and I think that some pronoucements by Cameron are very odd, especially as he had a disabled child himself.

[bee169]

I am also irritated by Cameron's comments.

My DH also earns above the threshold and we have opted out of child benefit. My son has ASD and I am now a SAHM as he has a number of needs and couldn't manage to accomodate his needs and work. I find Cameron's new cuts are aimed at certain families rather than the super rich who appear to have gained from recent tax laws!

I am staggered that someone who has had a severely disabled child himself has not considered families like ours. Grrrr

[OwlLady]

thanks for the reassurances that it isn't just me that feels like this :)

[bee169]

Owl Lady,

I would love to see you on newnight making him hang his head!! :)

[bee169]

newsnight even!!

[OwlLady]

so9 would I and I think it would make my Gran proud :o

[inappropriatelyemployed]

What really annoys me about this is the argument about fairness? It is not fair that a household where both parents earn just under 50k will keep ALL the benefit but one where one partner is earning above 60 lose everything.A family could have two earners earning 49k EACH and still have it. So why aren't those families 'making a contribution'? How can that be fair? Well, it isn't.

Also, if you earn over 50 but below 60, it is worth checking out the HMRC calculator as you will find you still get some money. I know it seems like a lot of hassle as you have to do a self-assessment form later in the year but otherwise the HMRC will keep the money that is rightly yours.

This must be costing millions to administer through self-assessment too.

It's a joke. Usual Troy rhetoric about 'fairness' and 'hard working families' while they pursue their ideological war against the welfare state.

[bee169]

I am just wondering....how does this affect divorced families where both parents contribute for the childs needs??and those where only one parent contributes?

[inappropriatelyemployed]

It's got nothing to do with children's needs. It is based on the income of the household. Child benefit is paid to the mother. If she has care for the child and works, it will be based on her income which will include maintenance payments.

[notactuallyme]

I'm affected. We gave it up. I work part time, and would love to work more (in sen, and love my job) but can't as my mum cannot manage ds for any great length of time.
Noone has ever answered that question properly inappropriate - I would love a straight answer. Maybe I could write a one sentence, no wriggle room, question to DC.
BTW 'these people' are already making a bloody contribution - cheeky git.

[bee169]

Sorry , thats what I meant. I wasn't refering to SEN I was just refering to bringing up a child.

[OwlLady]

If anyone in the house earns 50k or more they will be affected beee, whether that be a step parent or whatever. It's just as simple as they pay into the tax bracket

[inappropriatelyemployed]

Sorry, my post sounded a bit trill when I re-read it! Angry with Tory tossers not you!

[bialystockandbloom]

Yes I agree 100% with you. It's not only an unbelievably poorly thought out policy and the two-earner thing is an utter cock-up, but also (more importantly) the penalty that people such as you are paying is unforgivable and deeply unfair.

I'm not even sure what to do - DP and I aren't married. He earns above the threshold, and I'm SAHM. We're planning for me to continue to receive it, but he'll declare it on his self-assessment (which therefore wouldn't be until Jan 2014??) so I don't lose NI contributions. But he didn't receive a letter. So I have no idea what to do - do I just wait? Is it up to me or DP to alert tax office? Will the benefit just stop being paid? What a mess.

The cuts to welfare that this govt has got away with deeply, deeply depress and sicken me. The fact that there haven't been riots is astounding and I guess just shows how much apathy there is. Also how successful the right-wing media of the last 20 years has been. Just one single demo caused the govt to change the poll tax policy 20 years ago - can't imagine that happening now. I think people are so much more selfish and capitalist than ever before.

[inappropriatelyemployed]

I also think there is a lack of viable alternative. The Lib Dems are propping up this shower, the Labour leadership is too scared of doing anything to upset the Daily Mail. At least in the 80s we had a decent union movement and an organised left!

[OwlLady]

bialy, I went on hmrc and filled in the online thing. You can carry on claiming and then declare it on your self assessment (from what I understand, or maybe that should be don't) or you can just opt out now, which is what i did because apart from anything else we do not have the time to do self assessments due to the nature of our family!

[bialystockandbloom]

If you opt out, doesn't that mean you lose your NI contributions, therefore pension credits?

[KOKOagainandagain]

If you are a SAHM you have to fill in a CF411A (application form for pension credits). If you don't future pension can be affected by the income of another person - I know at the moment they may be DH but by the time you a drawing your pension they may be ex-H.

[inappropriatelyemployed]

I think this what they are hoping. It is a deliberate disincentive as people will opt out as it isn't worth the hassle of filling in a form (which is not very complicated unless your self-employed)

I understand this but if they get away with not having to pay a few hundred quid to every family earning between 50-60k who are entitled to something, then they will be reaping millions back. You wouldn't let Tesco dip into into your bank account and take out money, why let the Government?

[OwlLady]

I knew nothing about that form, thanks keepon

[latentheat]

We will lose it all, despite the fact that it's DH who is the high earner and he's stepfather to DD so isn't actually related to her. I am a f/t carer for her so I just get CA.

Like a lot of mothers of disabled children my first marriage broke down under the stress and I was a single parent/carer for year, entirely dependent on benefits. It wasn't easy meeting a new partner, let alone a gem like DH who's been willing to take on the financial burden for a child with additional needs. I lost a lot in tax credits as well when we got married, even though DD gets HRC/HRM DLA (at least that's not means-tested...wouldn't put it past them to consider it though).

My friends were amazed when DH proposed actually, they couldn't believe that he'd tie himself down to someone in my situation (on benefits, no prospect of me earning more money due to DD's needs, DD likely to need care well into her adult years). I definitely think single mums with disabled children are going to find it much harder to settle with new partners in the future, as their partners are effectively penalised financially for doing so.

[bialystockandbloom]

Owl, are carers exempt from the CB changes? Do you claim Carers allowance?

[bialystockandbloom]

Ah, sorry, it looks like latentheat has answered that question...

[notactuallyme]

I thought you couldn't get carers allowance if you had a high income ?

[notactuallyme]

Sorry, just looked it up - its not based on family income, so you could be with someone earning a decent amount. Wish I'd known that when I gave up work to look after ds!