IB50 and Incapacity Benefit

IB50

My last blog was on applying for the IB. So finally after five months my reply came. What a relief! I had been quietly stressing that it wouldn't come through. You have to see one of these letters to believe it though. It's four pages of typed information in a non-proportional font (ie probably printed on a very old fashioned line printer) with headings in block capitals, and very little in the way of helpful formatting. All you want to know is approved or denied!! So you do a quick scan of the four pages but nothing stands out - it's just blah blah blah.

So you have to start reading from the beginning and it starts be describing the process which you've just sweated blood completing in case you could possibly forget it! It tells you who gets this kind of benefit. It tells you that you recently (strange definition of recent, but let's not lose focus) filled in an IB50 form and that they have also potentially looked at other kinds of information and what that information is. Then they tell you how they assess your claim, about the points system and how they work out the points system. Then they spell out all the criteria under which you might have met the threshold (physical, mental, both) and then halfway down page two come the blessed words:

THIS MEANS YOUR AWARD OF BENEFIT WILL CONTINUE.

I see now why I missed it the first time - it looks identical to a heading. However there are a further two pages of type to read through. At this point it seems important to at least glance through them because there might be some time bomb in there. Looks like I'm clear of further entanglements till April 2011 which is a relief.

Part of the reason for the extra verbiage is that this is a standard letter for everyone whether or not you've had the benefit before - a lot of the info is only relevant to first timers. Such as several paragraphs on not needing to send medical certificates (I stopped over a year ago) and contacting people about needing to confirm incapacity with employers, unions or insurance companies.

Most of page three is about if you start to feel better you must tell them. Then this, which is classic:

CHANGES YOU MUST TELL US ABOUT

There are certain changes that you must tell us about because they might affect the amount of money you get.

Then it moves right on to the next section. So just 'certain' changes, nothing that needs to be spelled out ;-). Page four is only half used by the MORE INFORMATION section which is about how to contact them (the information is that the information is on the front page), and then how to get general information on this benefit.

Incidentally I notice something on this form which makes me think that my housing benefit got all mucked up because they weren't taking into account my being ill - people on IB and DLA qualify for a higher level of support than others.

For me the benefits rigmarole becomes a full-time job and I can't seem to cope with anything else while that is up in the air. I think it's because I'm totally reliant on it to live and I'm a fucking long way from home or any kind of non-governmental support. When that is uncertain my whole life seems to go to pieces. So I can now focus on rebuilding my shattered life and thinking about how I can participate in society and my community in a positive way. I'm doing some volunteer work - just three hours a week at present - and enjoying it. Perhaps I'll be able to build up to doing more. We'll see.