To apply for DLA for DD when we have a household income of over 300k?

[Milesandmilesandmiles]

Just that really - we have an autistic daughter who needs support with most things (although is in mainstream school). Between us DH and I earn over 300k, so we don’t need the money. However, conscious that we won’t be around for ever and we could save it for DD’s needs as she grows. But is this what state benefits are for?

But if you means test it someone will always lose out. Means testing is a race to the bottom where disability is concerned. How do you means test a benefit meant to cover extra costs ? There are so many variables it would vastly increase the administration costs.

These are IFS figures. DWP stated that the figure is more like 2.6m. Sunak was taken to task about using the figure of 3.2m in his controversial speech and it was stated soon after that it was incorrect and had counted DLA to PIP migrants twice.

Absolutely claim it!!

You must be paying close to £120k a year on tax between you.

I have two DS's that would qualify. 1 is very physically disabled and life is very much more expensive for him. 1 is autustic but has received good help in state school. I claimed for the physically disabled son but not for the autistic one. I felt that I could cover any extra costs for the autistic one on my £50 k income. The pot is finite. If I was on the £300 k I would not have claimed for either child.

With entitlements increasing by 300,000 per year the difference of 600,000 isn’t a huge gap. The numbers came from DWP. In either event they are terrifyingly high and rapidly increasing.

I’m disabled and don’t claim - wouldn’t think to try. I spend around £30+ a week on my disability - but I consider the care I get via the NHS to be more than enough as far as the country providing for me is concerned, so I’m happy to meet the other costs. Life will never be exactly equal and trying is a road to bankruptcy.

Do the maths. PIP was introduced to replace DLA in 2013, so her DB would have been 17 at the time and already claiming the benefit. The age 16 rule was introduced for new claimants and it’s taken years for DLA claimants to be migrated to PIP. Migration is still taking place so it’s entirely possible that if DB had an open ended award he could still be claiming DLA as he hasn’t yet been migrated.

I claimed DLA for 2 of my children and saved it because the nature of their reason for qualifying for it (home oxygen) didn't actually result in many extra monthly costs really. But at the end of the day they were assessed as being entitled to it just as your daughter is. The application forms don't ask about costs. They ask about their health which is what it is based on not financial reasons. You could perhaps save it and use it to make a large purchase that may benefit her in future so she doesn't end up in a situation where she has too much in savings to qualify for other financial assistance.

If you have extra expenses connected with your disability and you don’t claim, it’s not altruistic because no-one benefits just because you’re not claiming. And there will be people on the thread whose disability expenses are far in excess of your own, and for whom even the higher rates of benefit are only a contribution - they won’t cover the full cost. Obviously I’m not going to comment on the rights or wrongs of what is a personal decision for you, but I don’t agree with it.

If you’re going to use it on dd due to her disability then claim

dont claim it if she doesn’t need the money for anything and end up saving it- that’s not the point of it. If her needs don’t end up costing you any more money then I don’t see why you’d need to claim. If her needs do cost you more money then you should claim.

Yes you should as it may entitle you to other things with a child with SEN. Your household income is irrelevant.

Honest question, what if beyond school your autistic child can’t cope due to his ASD? Being in school and being out in the ‘real world’ are two completely separate things, and the unstable nature and expectations of self care often lead to many autistic people either being unable to work or being unable to care for themselves (even if they seem to be what the out of date term calls ‘high functioning’ at school). Would you be able to care for your adult child financially and possibly physically if their disability meant they couldn’t adequately manage adult life? Autism isn’t an academic disability in itself, a lot of parents of autistic children seem to think of their child is coping at school they’ll be ok later in life and are often surprised when that’s not the case at all.

It is altruistic because I’m happy to spend my own money rather than needlessly claim other people’s. I don’t want to take from a creaking system ‘because I can’ - this scarcity mindset has ruined the country’s finances and I think it’s shameful people can claim despite being far wealthier than 95% of people. When the system collapsed they can blame themselves.

I really think you should look at the huge sums of taxpayers money being wasted elsewhere before you advocate disabled people not claiming the benefits they are entitled to. The OP is claiming for her child- it’s the child who has the entitlement and they are not earning £300,000 a year. As others have pointed out here, PIP/DLA are universal benefits for a reason - means testing means someone in need will always lose out. Would you feel the same about claiming child benefit ?

Please provide some figures on the wastage you refer to.

Put it into a children's pension for her.

I agree, my own feeling is that a vouchers system is too hard to implement, but I don’t think everything in that consultation document will be kicked into the long grass. The Tories have passed a poison chalice to labour and highlighted the huge increase in claims to sickness and disability benefits, so I think they’ll have to do something, given the finances involved. Having had first hand experience of previous rounds of welfare reform, in my experience it’s always the sick and disabled at the front of the queue when it comes to cuts, and Rachel Reeves has already indicated that benefits will not be a ‘choice’ under Labour. As always, the language used is important and both Labour and the Tories have a track record of dressing up compulsion as ‘support’, so I’m not optimistic. I hope I’m wrong.

I think it depends on whether you would consider your dd ‘disabled’ (not all autistic people would be) and if so whether her disability incurs extra costs that you need help with. My dd is autistic and we don’t claim - she can do most things for herself, travel to school independently, she has a limited diet but one we can work with. She doesn’t cost us any more than her neurotypical brother (apart from private school fees… but that’s our choice and plenty of autistic kids have to manage in mainstream school). My friend has a child who is autistic and also has severe learning disabilities - his needs are far greater, she is limited in the work she can do (can’t use after school club, leave him with a childminder or leave him unsupervised even for a few minutes) and i think she needs the financial support.

@PAYEohYEAY i didn’t get free nursery hours either. What’s your point. See this attitude where people want to be funded for their lifestyle, their choice to have children etc. drives me nuts. I’m sure you think benefits are your entitlement. Frankly the benefit system in this country is ridiculous and needs to be means tested. And needs to be more short term than permanent life choice.

It’s not quite what the PP was referring to but the “tax gap”, ie the amount that isn’t paid in tax that’s theoretically due is £35.8bn vs £6.4bn in incorrectly paid benefits. Essentially tax evasion and avoidance are a far bigger issue than wealthy parents of disabled children claiming support they are entitled to.

Well other than those groups are also the one funding most of it.

Let’s blame the chain smokers instead who claim UC.

You didn’t take the funded 15 hours? As if.

Attendance Allowance, Winter Fuel, Free TFL travel etc aren’t means tested. Go go it!

Thanks for all the responses! Interestingly many (not all) of the comments are supportive of claiming but the vote is very much not (currently 64% of people say IABU)

Yes, there are already plenty of hidden costs as we had to pay for a private diagnosis and (for example) DD doesn’t cope well with school holidays due to change in routine, meaning we need to take extra (unpaid) leave from work. She only eats certain foods so there is a cost to that rather than just eating family meals. Those are just some examples.

Yes, we pay a lot into the system - probably almost £150,000 in tax and NI between us. So net contributors there.

I think what might persuade me to apply is that many people have pointed out that claiming DLA as a child might make it easier for her to claim as an adult (if needed) which is definitely something to think about.

You should not apply if your household income is £300 000