Benefits and tax credits

A negative implication of civil partnership is in the benefits and tax credits area, and this will be a particularly sore point for people who are not interested in civil partnership.
People in same sex couples have so far been treated as single or as single parents. From 5 December 05, they are required to declare that they are part of a couple even if they do not enter into a civil partnership. This will lead to an immediate drop of income which may be substantial in some families. For example, if you have children and are on tax credits, you will lose your single parent allowance, your partner’s income will also be taken into account and you may find you do not get any more help with childcare.

In a homophobic society, substantial numbers of gay people are fearful about being open about their sexuality, and lesbian mothers often feel twice as vulnerable because not only themselves but also their children are involved. There may be a lot of reluctance to come out to official bodies like the Social Security Agency or Tax Credit Office, and be on their records as a lesbian couple. However, it is to be noted that people who are afraid of registering as a couple with the Social Security Agency or Tax Credit Office will find themselves in a situation of fraud and therefore at risk of being prosecuted if found out.

Also, most of us make decisions according to our income and projected future income, such as which mortgage to take, whether you work part-time, or even stay at home to take care of your kids. The new legislation may force some of us to reconsider some of these life choices and face hardship in the meantime.

This will have a clear adverse impact on the poorer sections of our community. LGB groups have argued for transitional protection for people already on benefits or tax credits who will be affected by the new regulations, but there has been no positive response from government on this.

*Department of Social Development Leaflet on same sex couples and benefits. here

Watch out for:
• Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance and all other means-tested benefits
• Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit

• Child Benefit: only or eldest children receive a higher rate of Child Benefit. Say you are two women living together, each one with one or more biological children. Before 5 December 05, you have each been receiving the only or eldest child rate for your first-born. From that date, you are expected to declare your relationship to the Child Benefit Office (again, regardless of whether you enter a civil partnership or not). As a couple you will only receive this rate for the eldest of your ‘combined’ children, and the Child Benefit Office will decide which one of you will receive the benefit. If you have both claimed Child Benefit so far, you can choose re keep claiming separately. You could decide instead that the partner doing most of the childcare or working part-time or on a lower income claims Child Benefit. This is because claiming Child Benefit protects your state pension from suffering from career breaks or drops of income related to having childcare responsibilities.

• Child Support should not suffer the same adverse impact: if you are receiving Child Support from a non-resident father, your partner’s income will now become part of the Child Support calculations if you are living together (this is regardless of whether you register a Civil Partnership or not), although in most cases it will not affect what you receive, as the absent parent’s income is the main deciding factor. On the other hand, if you pay Child Support for a child who does not live with you, your payments may be reduced if you start living with a partner and her child.
On the other hand, people will be able to claim bereavement benefits and other benefits related to having incapacitated dependents.