AIBU about mum's income and lack of benefit entitlement?

[CanIHaveYourNumberCucumber]

My mum is 61 and is a WASPI. She's 61 and works in catering. She is currently working 30ish hours per week as she is too tired/achy to work full time and out of her £210 per week wages has to pay £120 rent; £50 council tax (repaying a debt) and then has £40 for bills and food.

She has applied for tax credits but because she was working more last year, she is unable to qualify for them.

She is also not eligible for housing benefit or council tax benefit.

She can't work any more because she's exhausted and she says that she's too old to try to do less demanding work and I can't think of anything that she could do instead anyway.

WTF is she supposed to do? She's living every week relying on her tips to buy food, which is no more than £3/4 per day and her life seems such a sad existence.

Fuck off and take your hatred elsewhere Beep.

Some people don't feel well or able to work full time no matter what age....and those difficulties get worse as you get older. The OPs mother is 61...she is struggling and despite 30 hours of work she doesn't bring enough money in because employers pay crappy wages.

Deriding her as deserving of her situation is disgusting...you should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself for being so judgemental

"Can't be arsed".

Honestly...how the FUCK does anyone work that out based on a few lines in a post?

Some of you have a hole where your compassion should be.

Tax credit calculator says she should get £71.00 per month. If your income goes up or down compared to the previous year then you have to inform the Tax credit people and they will adjust your claim. I think you need to ask them to do her tax credits on current year income not previous years income.

Can she visit her GP and see if there is a medical reason why she is so exausted? 61 isn't considered elderly these days, and she's a good few years off retirement age so unfortunately the government will expect her to support herself.

Sorry I can't be of more help.

Some councils do discretionary payments, I believe even for those not receiving housing benefit. Can you check if your mums council do this?

...and yes OP now I have calmed down.

The fact your mum is feeling so exhausted needs checking out in case she has some underlying health issues.

It's not normal unless she has other stuff going on in her life which might explain it,

I'm wondering what beep would make of me. I cant work 30 hours a week either and I'm nowhere 60yo....
Also worth noting that half of the people in their 60s DO have some Heath condition that makes it harder to work. Which is why increasing the age of retirement isn't making sense on a practical POV. Because many people will not be able to have an employment, full time or part time,

OP I agree with some other posters. I think your mum needs to go and see her GP too. She needs to insist on them checking her out properly (incl blood tests) to see why she is so tired and achy.
Unfortunately 61yo isn't seen as old anymore. And clearly some think you can carry in working as if you were 20yo. But on the other side, with GPS, lots of aches and pains and just put down to age and not properly looked at.
But being as tired as that and achy is a sign that something isn't quite right.

I totally sympathise with your Mum, being a WASPI myself. Beyond angry about the 2011 pension act which gave ladies like your Mum and me precious little notice of an increase in pension age. I can only echo what other (kind) posters have said - maybe try CAB, Age Concern and the council - as a last resort maybe her MP as well. Regarding your Mum's health, I had a similar experience to her and it turned out I had very low thyroid levels. Now permanently on Levothyroxine which has made a massive difference in my energy levels. So I do suggest you encourage her to go to her GP, there may well be a medical reason for her tiredness. Very best wishes to your Mum and you for a good outcome for her. On the plus side, how lucky is she to have such a lovely caring daughter.

Beep:

i'm a WASPI too:

www.waspi.co.uk/

I have paid 43 years of contributions, but still have to wait an extra 6 years to get my state pension. I have yet to be informed of this in writing by the government either. I have several chronic auto immune diseases which can be debilitating at times. Still working full time and it's not nice.

Hope you never get old/sick/exhausted

Can somebody please explain what a WASPI is?

61 when you've had a desk job, good nutrition and a relatively comfortable lifestyle all your life is different to 61, having done a manual job, been on a low wage and struggled financially all your life.

Unfortunately the fat cats who sit in their offices and make up the rules do not have the intelligence or empathy to realise this (and neither do some of the posters on this thread).

Hopefully the council tax repayment can be reduced. That is too punitive.

Good luck with the tax credits.

This is why rental is a bit shit, because if people have a mortgage it is usually paid off by the time they are 60 and then they can reduce their work right down as they just have bills to cover.

Is it a 2 bed flat or just 1? If a 2 bed would it be possible to take in a lodger for some extra money?

Also is there a less 'on your feet' job your DM might be able to do? Catering is really quite physical.

From a different point, has she considered working in a call centre? I know they have a bad reputation, but the truth of it is, it is a sit-down job, in climate controlled environment, with guarantee of breaks, steady pay, and health benefits. Beggars can't very choosers.
I had to do this, for three years, as I have sarcoidosis and I had zero energy. It was a transition for me onto being able to work elsewhere. For her , it could be the bridge to retirement.
Jobs in call centres are the kind of stress you leave on the work floor. You don't have to take shit home, you don't have to come in early and do paperwork. And the actual job is very easy and you're trained on what to do. There is a reason that they will take just about anyone. If you are willing to try, they are willing to train.

I'd suggest call centre work too. It's sedentary, the camaraderie is often good, and the hourly pay will probably be superior. Go for a customer service type thing- Avoid places like HMRC or DWP where it's more specialised/demanding with lots of training.

Is a WASPI one of those people who had their pension age increased, so they were expecting to retire at 60 but now have to wait to 66? I'm in the same boat and the same age as OPs mother but I do lots of yoga and exercise to keep fit and try to do nice things in my leisure time (mostly free, like long walks and picnics, local galleries etc) If I wasn't earning enough to live on I'd change my job. OP on the figures you give the wages she gets now are 50p under minimum wage - obviously she can't manage on that and would be due some back pay if she reported her employer.

She needs a in year assessment

Definitely get her to contact her local Citizen's Advice. A lot of the time organisations will fob people off where as they will work with CAB advisers. For example, councils will use threats to get the council tax debt paid within the current year and so payments will remain high, but advisers will be able to negotiate a longer period. They will be able to help with benefits too.

It sounds like she's being under paid: checkyourpay.campaign.gov.uk/#nlw

I wouldn't say that someone "can't be arsed" if they are stillworking 31 hours a week at the age of 61. What an ill-informed and bloody stupid remark from Beep. Especially as I presume that OP's Mum has paid into the system all of her working life.

I hope that she can get tax credits sorted, and reduced council tax. She deserves the help.

Oh call centre work is a good suggestion! That was the kind of thing I meant by asking if she could try for a job that is less active.

Echo to get her health checked

Beep I hope you experience profound fatigue some day soon and end up eating your words. I had a phase of this for two months this year luckily I am self-employed so I didn't lose my job or anything but it has taught me to value my energy more. It is much better now it was just a nasty menopausal fatigue phase but it was horrific. I personally would not wish any type of fatigue or exhaustion on anybody now I have experienced it for myself.

Perhaps ask her GP to check for thyroid/aneamia.

I would get her payments for Council Tax reduced down.

Fill out the income and expenditure form but make sure it is a comprehensive one that covers things like transport to work etc.

I used to work in Council Tax and sometimes the bailiffs would ring us and tell us that their tie was worth more than what they could lift from a property. It was usually elderly people, on a crap pension with no stupid extravagant spending.

So pay whatever the Council Tax is for this year, but get them to extend it as far as they can, ie it is usually over 40 weeks rather than 52, they probably won't take it to 31st March but see how far they will stretch it.

Then work out the debt and realise that if that is for a previous year then it does not have to be collected in before 31st March 2018 as much as they would like it to be.

When I worked there (15 years ago) the minimum debt repayment was £2.50 per week for anyone on benefits. Clearly that figure will have increased but contact Age Concern for advice overall.