Does anyone regret going on disability benefits?

[LemonStork]

Speaking as a disabled person who struggles to work, I feel like if you're able to do some work, it's heavily discouraged to apply for disability benefits. There's this idea of 'benefit dependency' pushed heavily by the government and the idea that anyone who isn't actively dying should be focusing on supporting themselves through work instead. But do many people feel like going on disability benefits (if you actually get approved - I know it's an onerous process for many) has actually made them 'dependent' and worse off? Or is being poor and dependent on others actually the result of the disability rather than the benefits?

Urgh. NOT through choice - sorry didn't notice this mistake until too late to edit

..and I say that mindful of you having a choice. But propagating the notion that most people choose to claim these benefits is so, so harmful. For so many people, there is no choice, not just in claiming benefits or not but also in any "normal" choice. Disability strips us of so many choices. I'm sorry I went from 0-200mph in my previous comment but it is so damaging to feel like we are somehow choosing the unimaginable luxury of claiming a basic benefit we are entitled to. It has fairly destroyed me, to lose any semblance of control in this way.

I think OP is referring to LCWRA which is an element of UC paid to those who are too disabled to work - like myself.

Also, PIP is not to enable anyone to work, it’s for the added costs of being disabled.

Imagine not being heard, not being safe, not being valued, having no discernible way to mould your future.
It's backwards and offensive and unnecessary. Anyone can become infirm or disabled at any time. Even you.

I think that when people seek to bash the disabled, they forget that no one wants to be disabled, and that it could happen to anybody. There is a safety net, and those that seek to undermine it, may need it themselves one day, or for a loved one. Only then will they appreciate how hard it is to actually access that help.

Thank you! Well said. I too am slowly going blind. It’s very encouraging to know that there are ways I can still interact on Mumsnet etc! Isn’t technology amazing?

Well if the choice is between eating, being able to have a roof over one's head, as opposed to going somewhere to quietly depart in a corner...

Apparently 'the DWP has introduced a “Chance to Work Guarantee” that allows people to work without it affecting their LCWRA status and benefits entitlement'. (Thank you AI.)

@LadyKenya

I missed out the word NOT as soon as I realised my error. I posted then left the thread and didn't return until I saw others replies had been posted. Just a mistake.

I get PIP and I work full time. I'm entitled to the benefits (not means tested) that help me to stay in full time employment.

There's 'Access to Work' grants, too.

I beg your pardon, I must have missed your subsequent post.

You can ask MNHQ to withdraw your first post otherwise you may keep getting lots of reactions to it.

@SummerFeverVenice

Thanks, I have done

Do I regret claiming ESA when a major operation intending to improve my gait was complicated to the point my femur was broken for 4 years and I lost my job?
Well, it wasn't a high point in my life no
I remain on ESA 26 years later due to deterioration of My Cerebral Palsy
I also receive enhanced rates of both components of PIP
Not all persons with disabilities fit neatly into a tick box exercise.

Perhaps we define the word 'choice' differently. But for me, I have to make the choice myself to claim the benefit. No one is going to do it for me. Have I struggled in poverty or secure housing for years without disability benefits? Yes. I wouldn't be able to live without unemployment/low income benefits though. I didn't put the full context in my post because then it would be an unreadably long ramble. It wasn't my intention to upset anyone

Oh I'll ask the person I care for with paranoid schizophrenia if he regrets claiming the benefits that mean he can afford to live...
What a stupid question. Most people don't have a choice if they want to be alive!!

I'm disabled and have never held down a job for longer than a few months. Why would I want disabled people who don't work 45 hours to die?

I'm disabled and have never held down a job for longer than a few months. Why would I want disabled people who don't work 45 hours to die?
Have I struggled in poverty or secure housing for years without disability benefits? Yes. I wouldn't be able to live without unemployment/low income benefits though

So you've been on JSA/UC for years, but for some reason think it's PIP and/or ESA makes a person dependant?

I'm not sure if it's the sensitive topic or my autism or both that is producing these responses? I have nothing against people on disability benefits. I am currently in the process of applying. There is a disability component of UC. If you're on ESA you'll be transferred to it eventually.

I have nothing against people on disability benefits. I am currently in the process of applying

Which benefit? You sound like you've no clue about what any of the benefits actually are so I'm suspicious of your claim that you've even applied for any.

But I hear of people feeling like they can't increase their work because it might affect their disability benefits and I don't want to be in that position.

PIP is not affected in anyway by working or earnings.

For the OP (who seems to have gone?) and anyone else in a position of applying or thinking about applying for a disability related benefit, here's the Benefits & Work website link. I found it invaluable, and only needed to use the free resources.

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/

I still don't understand what you want from this thread @LemonStork ? You already claim benefits, do you regret doing so? If not, why would you regret claiming other benefits?

This. The OP is not really being coherent about what she is trying to get across.

Just FYI
All ESA claimants are not being transferred to UC, only those on Income related.
I'm on Contributions based as I made NI contributions prior to my claim.
You have shown yourself to be ignorant of persons with disabilities but claim to be one yourself
I repeat, My Cerebral Palsy is not a choice, so benefits keep a roof over my head and keep me from starving
The claiming process is difficult and stressful so I hope you are successful.

I applied for PIP as I had to massively reduce my working hours to help manage a chronic condition.

I was awarded straight away (no appeals) so obviously was a clear cut case of needing it even to the notoriously stingy DWP, but I chose not to renew as I found the prospect of reassessment too stressful at he time. It was causing a relapse in the improvements I’d made my health and I couldn’t face being subjected to that every year or so.