What lifestyle do you think disabled people who are not working should have?

[HmmOk]

Curious about what other people think. Before anyone says it, yes I am quite aware that plenty of disabled people do work and lots earn very well. However not everyone is able to do that.

I generally think disability benefits should cover a decent quality of life - should make up shortfall in rent as rents are so high, decent quality food, pay for therapies and tools that would help the person's disabilities, and pay for some fun stuff so that everyone can participate in society. People need to have a bit more money than only meets their basic needs, to be able to meet a mate for coffee or have a day out or whatnot.

Thinking about this today as not currently working due to bereavement and poor physical health and know I'm lucky to be in a loving marriage where i am supported, and for now we are ok with money. I'm hoping to find work I can do soon that won't further fuck my health.

In contrast I have a mate who is very ill with very serious life threatening conditions. She is single, abusive family of origin and she is quite vulnerable especially looking at the future. I think there should be better security for her future as the immense stress of money is not helping her health at all. Like why can't PIP be given for life to someone in that situation? It is cruel.

What do you think?

A full time minimum wage doesn't cover rent or bills though in much of the country, surely? It requires topping up with housing benefit and other benefits, so if we're disabled we would need those and more if adaptations, transport, etc. are needed.

@AnxiousFairyQueen I'm so sorry that was your experience, I can relate xxx

My disabled son gets less than that net and he works full time...

Yes this, mental health services are still so heavily reliant on the very flawed medical model.
The IAPT (improving access to psychological therapies) initiative was meant to rectify this situation but its too little.

I have Parkinson’s at 61, standing, walking not very far, tires me, no way could I work. I simply don’t have the stamina and nuro eye issues
Luckily no housing costs and some private money, pip alone is not enough, for a reasonable life, and I don’t drive

I didn't think single working people on minimum wage got housing benefit even. I thought mostly people with kids get it or people who don't work.

I think it should be on a sliding scale. So if you have a disability where you

• cannot ever work
• cannot ever live independently

You get a very decent amount to live. Their carers should also get a decent amount too, as what family carers are paid at the minute is a fucking disgrace. They shouldn’t have to reapply and have to “prove” their disability again either. Therapies and support to improve their quality of life need to be increased too.

However, if you have something that can be “fixed”, I don’t think you should get as much. And you should be checked in with regularly to reassess these benefits. In that case it’s a short term benefit and should be treated as such. Obviously if it developed further into something that was clearly going to be a life long issue, you’d move into the top category at some point.

The shortage of “money” they’d be given in comparison to those in the first category should go on therapies etc to get them well and back into the workplace as soon as possible, ideally. So as an example, if I was unable to work because I had anxiety, I’d be given less than those in the first category but I’d be receiving therapy to help me with the anxiety, so I can go back to work and my normal life quicker, rather than getting no support and regressing further.

I think it’s a very delicate balancing act that is quite impossible to come up with a solution that helps those who need it in the best way, though.

The messages on this thread are crying out saying we have not got enough money to live a decent life whether able to work or not.

Approximately 81 people (probably men) own more wealth than approximately 4,050,000,000 people.

It bothers me.

My mum was left physically disabled after she was the victim of a serious crime and she was left unable to work. She was also the cater for my dad who had Alzheimer’s disease.
She applied for PIP and was denied which meant her and my dad had to live off credit cards to get by for over a year, the took it to a tribunal and the judge was incredulous that it had been denied, he awarded her the highest rate and an indefinite award length.

Disability benefit rates should at least match the NMW. There should be more housing for disabled people, or the standard of new build social housing should include everything so that if a disabled person moves in the home is safe & they can get around easily. Things like level access front & back doors, wiring already in for a stairlift to be fitted, wide doorways, rooms big enough for a wheelchair etc. There should be social tariffs for everything from gas/electric, broadband, TV, house insurance, car insurance.

I've been disabled with mental ill health since i was 15 (severe OCD, PTSD, depression) and have never been well enough to work, i have gone 13 months at my worst not even being able to walk through my front or back door for even a minute outside. I cannot ever leave the house alone, have to be chaperoned by my dad, who quit work when i was 16 and suicidal and has been my full time carer ever since. I cannot use public transport as i can need to get home VERY quickly if i have an attack, plus i get instant migraines from buses and taxis are too expensive and wait times i couldn't handle.

PIP refuse to give me enhanced mobility, and our car we purchased with the lump sum when my mum died, has done over 90,000 miles and coming to the ned of its life. I'm not far off being stranded in my home unable to ever go out as there's no way for us to afford a car outside the mobility scheme, and PIP just will not award me enhanced mobility rate, despite the fact i SHOULD score the full 12 points needed for mental health condition to be awarded this. How is a person so disabled they cannot work, and their carer who also cannot work due to caring needs, supposed to afford a car? i'm absolutely terrified that my whole world will soon be restricted to the inside of my home.

I find it absolutely laughable that people think it's not the government cracking down on the disabled as an easy target and actually a bunch of Machiavellian tricksters taking a walking stick to the jobcentre and being told they don't have to pay for anything for life.

If ONLY you could just say you were disabled and get the appropriate amount of benefits. You're more likely to get called a lying malingerer and end up even more sick, fighting thoughts of suicide from desperation.

There's no way on earth I'm applying for the benefits I'm entitled to. I've heard the horror stories and I prefer my mental health to not be destroyed in the HOPE I MIGHT get enough money to afford a basic standard of living.

The first sentence of your post sounds just like what is over the entrance to Auschwitz "Work sets you free" disgusting

i think one of the worst things is being disabled and getting into a relationship and losing basically every benefit (except pip) so you’re financially dependent on your significant other. Instead of understanding that a person is disabled and qualifies for certain benefits as they can’t work to essentially be their wage, they take basically all of it away when they live with a partner. But most households have two working adults with two incomes yet disabled people are forced to basically rely on one income when they get a partner - yet have no other choice to change that?

Contributions based ESA would not be affected by a partners earnings.

UC is though. I lived with my ex... unable to work, but could not claim a penny. Pisses me off when I then see posts on MN about women should be financially dependant etc.

The same issues always seem to come up on these threads.

Firstly you can't get everyone to agree on what should be included in a basic and a good standard of living.

Secondly you can't lump all disabled people into one group, there are so many different needs. Some disabled people can use and have access to public transport for example. Some have the potential to get back into the workforce and some will be out of work for the rest of their lives.

Thirdly people want those who work full time to be able to afford a similar lifestyle, which I think is reasonable. The issue with that tends to be housing, the shortage of it and ridiculous rent increases that swallow any wage increase or benefit raise.

Oh cut the hyperbole. Work IS good for most people. The people we used to support in wokshops for the disabled loved their (very part time)jobs and when they were taken away due to minimum wage legislation many were devastated and developed long term issues.

@Seagullchippy min wage isn't always topped up. Yes if you have children and I don't know about rent but if you're single then no
I pay for everything off one min wage salary

I have a family member with severe learning disabilities. They live in supported living accommodation where the rent and care costs are covered by the council. Outside of this they still get PIP which covers bills and food, plus allows a lot of extras, including the occasional holiday. Covid helped to some extent as they weren't able to go out, so could save more. Of course that comes with it's cost to mental health. I know though that they are at the far end of the disability spectrum, so don't have to fight for the government support so much.

So true.

At the moment I get contribution based ESA and UC (and PIP) but my ESA is cut in half because I get a pension, that I paid for.

Soon that will change and I will only get UC, and that will be reduced pound for pound by the amount of my pension.

So why did I bother paying in to a pension and paying NI?

So I will soon be recieving the same amount as if I had never worked.

I do think it would be compationate to alllow disabled people to access the old age pension earlier, maybe at 60?

Go and watch a program like my 600lb life and you will see people who are bedbound, unable to care for themselves, in constant pain, and definitely unfit for work.

Morbid obesity is more complex than just telling someone to put the cake down, it's a really complex set of physical and emotional issues.

You wouldn't blame someone with anorexia for their ED so have some compassion for someone at the other end of the scale.

I had a GP say to me the other week " you advisors, you help people to get extra money but it just makes our job worse, they just drink themselves to death. He had a point really.

Blimey, @Babyroobs, what a callous GP. Although my client group now is mental health, I have worked with people with addictions before and in every single case there were either histories of trauma and/or mental health issues.

If we were better at treating trauma and mental health problems, we might not have such a lot of problems with addiction. But also, if someone chooses to "drink themselves to death", because their life is so bloody awful and miserable, I kind of think they have the right to make that choice.

My DB has a long history of mental illness and he gets around £320 pw in ESA and PIP. He has no housing costs, so that covers his bills and basics comfortably, with a fair amount left over. It's about the same as my pensions, a bit more, probably.

I have a client in exactly that position. They have been in an abusive relationship, which included financial abuse, and they have decided that they won't set up home with their partner because they are so anxious about ending up in that position again.

Don’t be ridiculous comparison @Nat6999 work is good for you! It gives you a sense of pride and achievement. Most disabled people if they could would rather be working than relying on the state.