If you are on benefits and ex pays CSA do you actually get the money or not ?

[nutcracker]

Xp is considering going back to work (don't hold your breath).

If he does he will have to pay CSA of about £45 a week, but will I actually get any of it and will it mean my other benefits are reduced ?

I receive tax credits & they are not effected by the maintenance that I get from ex-H.

Do they lower your Income support or something though ??

If he pays £45 a week, I won't actually get £45 a week will I ?? or if i do they will reduce Income support maybe ??

i believe your income support and housing benefit may be affected.

£10 of it

I'd get £10 or thats what they'd take frmo my benefits ??

Hmm wondering what the point is really. I know he has to pay for his kids but if we aren't really going to benefit.

When me and dp lived apart, he paid £45 p/w direct to the csa, and I got Income support. I never actually saw a penny of the child support he had to pay.

Ahh thats what I thought Seashells, waste of time for me and the kids then really.

You will get about £10 of it, the reason you don't get any more is because it goes to the government to help pay your benefits, I think thats pretty fare.

If you came off benefits you would obviously get it all but would probably loose a hell of a lot more and be homeless.

Believe me if I could find a job that would pay enough for me to even break even then I would but whilst Ds is still at nursery it's just not do able.

nutty am I right in thinking you have 3 children or have I got you mixed up with someone else? Just wondering why he'd only have to pay £45 a week, unless his job will be really low paid

Yep 3 kids.

CSA calculator came up witht that. He only earns about £14000.

you will get £10. i dont think the number of kids makes any difference. ive got two as you know and dd's dad has never paid csa a penny but regardless, i was told even if both dads paid up i would only get £10...(not for each child, just £10). he can either pay you £45 directly and they will take £35 from your income support, or he can pay it to the csa, your income support will remain the same and the csa will pay you £10 a week of whatever he pays, but if he pays them late, they will pay you late. im not too good at explaining things, does that make any sense!?

yes

yeah, it 's exactly as nightowl says. Although £45 seem a pretty low amount for 3 kids, but i guess as you wont be seeing more than a tenner of it, it doesn't really matter.

I think the system is very, very unfair actually.

I have always been in eployment as a lone parent, so I have never really been effected by it, and what my xp pays does top up what I bring home a fair bit, but i do still think the sytem is very unfair.

As far as I'm aware his csa would just pay your income support so you wouldn't get this money on top of your income support as I am in same postion. Not 100% on that though, could be wrong.

Ime you would get the money from the CSA and you would need to tell the DWP (or whoever it is) that your income has changed. If the child maintenance is more than you would receive in income support, then income support would be cancelled. All the time your ex pays less than the amount of IS you receive, you will be no better off, one will just cancel the other out.

Child tax credits aren't affected by maintenance though and at that level, I doubt very much if your housing and council tax benefit would be.

Nutcracker. I'm on income support and yes, it is reduced by the amount my xp pays me. I think they ignore the first £10. What infuriates me is the fact that I could be on a £100k pa salary (ok, wishful thinking) and he'd still have to pay me the maintenance for the girls. However, as I'm on income support, they consider it "income" and deduct it from my entitlement. Scandalous! Just as well I don't plan being on support for too long - just a glitch in my career, but the deduction does make a HUGE difference to my finances. Sorry if it's not what you want to hear. Oh by the way, it does depend on whether HE pays you directly, or whether he pays the CSA - in which case you wont see any of it bar, I think, the £10 they ignore! Does that make sense?