Disability allowance and high waged parents.

[Countbinface]

Hi I am not new but name changed.
Who is being unreasonable

My friend thinks that high earning parents ( well off as In earn 100k plus ) of disabled children shouldn’t be able to claim DLA as they have the means to cover this them self.

I disagree and think it should stay open to any disabled child.
We earn well and have A disabled daughter and she claims high rate care and mobility.
AIBU to claim this ?

Well I think there’s two slightly different angles
If you’re currently entitled to claim and are eligible then you should

Whether earnings of this level Should be eligible I guess is a different question and one which I guess won’t be a popular one

Of course you should claim this

Either society pays for your kids needs or.... eugenics

I know which one I'd choose

@millymollymoomoo I can see both sides but I think it’s a really thin line on where the cut of would be.

You are entitled and should claim. And rightly so.

You are entitled to this support and you should claim it. That is all.

I remember the Camerons being open about claiming it for Ivan as it was a 'passport benefit'.

Dla isn’t means tested but there are other benefits linked to it that are like disabled element of universal credit and carers allowance. It can be a lot more expensive having a disabled child as they can’t access the same things other children can, I know some of the specialist holiday play schemes are around £150 a day for example whereas a general play scheme you can get for £20 or £30 round here. I can see the arguement but where would the cut off be? £50k is cut off for chikd benefit but is low if parents are having to fund specialist equipment/respite.

PIP claims for adults are also not means tested.

Disability payments in my view should not be means tested. If they were they would bring in a very low limit which means that lots who need this money would not get it. To say it should be means tested shows that the person saying it has not idea what it is like to love as a disabled person and the extra costs that that comes with. Disabled people suffer enough already!!

I struggled - actually still do struggle with this (DS gets middle rate DLA).

I've made my peace with it because a) it's a 'gateway' benefit for lots of services, for eg he wouldn't get to go to his youth club if he didn't get DLA.

B) DH earns incredibly well so we as a family are well off. However, I used to be a high earner too and I had to take my foot off the gas to support DS.

C) DS needs a lot of stuff that a child without a disability doesn't. So the youth club I mentioned is brilliant but we have to go clear from one end of the city to another at rush hour to get him there, other DCs just go to their local youth club at the end of the road. DS has to take a laptop to school (not supplied) and burns through them at the rate of one a year.

D) it's not my money, it's DS's money. I spend it to make his life easier but it's essentially society's recognition that he has extra needs.

E) it's not means tested. I'm not doing anything even slightly wrong in claiming a benefit that he is entitled to.

Claim it. Save it, spend it on your child.. do whatever meets their needs best.
As others have said, it is a passport to other services and also a recognition of your child's needs regardless of the money aspect!
And disabled children are expensive..and get more so as they grow. Especially when they hit 18 and adult services refuse to fund anything..

Need a powerchair later with attendent controls? Start saving that 20k now... need a bathroom modified or extended.. best of luck getting more than the minimum out of social services.

My son gets PIP.. he's an adult now. On a day to day basis he doesn't cost a huge amount.. but if he did not have his special needs, he'd have been out in the world by now.. possibly married, or living with someone. He'd drive, have friends, perhaps would have gone to University. But he's not.. he's with us for the foreseeable future. So we save his PIP for that future when we are no longer around to take care of him!

Katie Price claimed for Harvey when she was supposedly worth millions

It's not means tested the person is either entitled or their not and as others say it's a gateway to other services .

Disability benefits are not means tested for good reason

DLA for a child is not means tested
Nor is PIP (DLA equivalent ) nor Attendance allowable (disability for older people)

Your friend may have this view, but DWP (benefits agency) don't bid is it legislation, because it disability needs at the level
You'd get awarded DLA /Pip are set so high, it's a severe and substantial disability

So no- it's not that much money in the scheme of things, easily swallowed up by extra disability costs to cover additional needs for that child. If the parents have lotsa cash fab, they can buy in extra, but it's a drop in the ocean to a disabled child's needs

I know someone who struggled to get a Blue badge because one of the criteria was re what level mobility component you were paid and she had enough money not to need benefits so did not claim. I am a bit torn as benefits should really be there to support those who need them but disability benefits are not means tested so would not judge anyone for claiming what there are entitled to, as long as it is seen as sons money and not yours

daughter, sorry.

@StillMedusa

Claim it. Save it, spend it on your child.. do whatever meets their needs best. As others have said, it is a passport to other services and also a recognition of your child's needs regardless of the money aspect! And disabled children are expensive..and get more so as they grow. Especially when they hit 18 and adult services refuse to fund anything..

Need a powerchair later with attendent controls? Start saving that 20k now... need a bathroom modified or extended.. best of luck getting more than the minimum out of social services.

My son gets PIP.. he's an adult now. On a day to day basis he doesn't cost a huge amount.. but if he did not have his special needs, he'd have been out in the world by now.. possibly married, or living with someone. He'd drive, have friends, perhaps would have gone to University. But he's not.. he's with us for the foreseeable future. So we save his PIP for that future when we are no longer around to take care of him!

Oh @MedusasBadHairDay

One side effect of the pandemic is that DS turning 16 has really snuck up on us, I haven't done anything about transition yet and am bricking it... It's not going to be pretty, is it?

Also I don't actually think he'll get PIP so take that DLA while you can OP....

Quite simply, disability payments are NEED BASED, not INCOME BASED!

They are based on how much a disability disadvantages a person in life, not how much money they have coming in.

My response to people jealous of my PIP is to say I'd swap them my disability anytime, so they could have it.

It is for the child, so the child should receive it. You receive it on the child’s behalf. You absolutely should claim it.

I remember this being debated when Katie price was in the big brother house and she said that she claimed it for Harvey. It didn’t go down well in the house, I don’t think, but in the outside world it was generally accepted that she should indeed receive it for him.

@vdbfamily

I know someone who struggled to get a Blue badge because one of the criteria was re what level mobility component you were paid and she had enough money not to need benefits so did not claim. I am a bit torn as benefits should really be there to support those who need them but disability benefits are not means tested so would not judge anyone for claiming what there are entitled to, as long as it is seen as sons money and not yours

You don't have to claim PIP for a BB. You apply through the local council and it's an automatic yes if you get 10 points or more for mobility in the PIP assessment. The council can and will do their own assessment if you are not claiming PIP

YANBU

It is for the child, I don’t believe it should be means tested but I didn’t believe CB should have been either.

And as someone else has already said the Camerons claimed it for Ivan.

If nothing else it's a gateway benefit. It allows you to access stuff that's a challenge otherwise like a Blue Badge. The system is geared towards a pathway. If you aren't on that pathway, jumping through hoops then doors are shut to you.

@flashylamp that's not true. I'm disabled and was turned down with no assessment for a BB. I don't claim PIP because we don't need it but this may be the thing that makes me do so.

It would be disastrous to make DLA means tested, for those in the ‘just getting by’ zone.

It is nine of your friend’s business, I wouldn’t be discussing it with her.

If you are rolling in money and don’t need it, make an equivalent donation to a charity that provides facilities or practical support to poorer families with kids with disabilities.

My husband is a high earner and I claim DLA for our son, I'm also his paid carer due to the rates he gets and the amount of care he needs.

We do not qualify for child benefit or any other type of benefit apart from a blue badge but my son qualified for this based on his needs and the care he requires. The money is used for him and him only.