Advice needed for elderly

[die6]

Maybe someone is up to date with the regulations concerning the minimum income allowance??
We have an elder widow in the neighbourhood. Her husband died 2 years ago. She's 85 and still has the live in maid at home, that previously nursed
her husband until he died.
The lady ahs a pension of 520€ /month and pays 400 € for the maid, means she has only 120€/month for living!!
After the death of her husband the lady had replied for the allowance forgetting the minimum income and was refused! She had inherited an account form her husband with 17000€, which -as far as I know- according to the law belongs to her AND the 4 children. Until now she spent around 6000€ from this account. Now her part of the amount will be eaten up very soon, or already is.
Advice please, is there a chance to get the allowance, the minimum income?
Could she be forced to send the live in maid away caseu she cannot longer pay her??
We just try to help, it's so sad, a lovely lady, not depending on care, but old, a bad walker und for sure not able to do her household alone.

[die6]

No, Cypriot.

[die6]

Would be great indeed, thank you!

[PaphosAL]

You would think that common sense would apply here in this case... If the old lady's husband (who passed away two years ago) qualified for a live-in maid, nursing and caring for him 24/7 for €400 per month, despite his €17,000 bank savings, then all she needs to do is apply for a new Carers claim to switch it into her name from his?

Or maybe the Maid (Carer) needs to do this? If the claim is successful, Cy Gov might even backdate it to the date of the deceased husband's death, making it seamless and contiguous?

Good luck to them! AL

[Lofos-Jan]

For a single person the GMI is €480. It is means tested and assets (deposits) should not exceed €5,000 and immovable property value should not exceed €100,000. So it doesn't look like she would qualify. There is however an allowance for elderly care of up to €400 but I am not sure if this comes into effect in additional to the former:

"Home care includes the provision of assistance with normal daily tasks (e.g. bathing, dressing, personal hygiene). The value of the subsidy cannot exceed €400 per month".

If she would qualify but is denied this on the grounds of the bank deposit total and if this is for a quarter split for the children and her under the Cypriot Inheritance law then they should take their proportions out of the account.

I would strongly advise going down to the Citizens Service Centre with the lady or one of her children and having a chat with one of the staff who are generally really helpful and will advise what to do.

Jeanne

[PaphosAL]

Good advice thanks, Jeanne! But let's hope and pray that it doesn't open up a can of worms, whereby her husband (who passed away 2 years ago) accidentally forgot to mention his €17,000 account at the time he claimed for the €400 per month allowance for the live-in maid cum carer, who was obviously caring for both of them.

Seems like Cyprus has similar stupid rules for Carers as in UK. Where the carer only gets paid for caring for ONE person, despite clear proof that they are actually looking after two!

Just happened here, to us in UK... Daughter caring for her mother (my wife) for past 12 months, AND me (as both of us being on DWP AA at Higher Rate). But daughter only gets paid for caring for one, her Mum. Now that my wife has sadly passed away, our daughter has to go through the whole Carers claim procedure again, claiming for caring for me!

Just what you need, the day after a dear Mum / Wife was buried...

Not to mention UK DWP writing to say that oops, they had paid my wife's State Pension, AA, and PGC for one week after her death. Pay us back now, or else! She died on Tuesday, and we notified them on Wednesday next day. The silly sods were still paying her on Friday and the following Monday.

You couldn't make it up if you tried...

AL

[die6]

Thank you for the advices. Have to ask her (hope she remebers), if they paid the maid 'prvately' before, just from the 2 pensions, without claiming of benefits from the state. Don't know. If they already got benefits for the old man, I'm sure the autoritiers knew about their accounts, because last year,
when the lady told me about her problem for the 1st time, she mentioned, they even knew of her ''immovable property'' in the middle of nowhere, which is one fifth of a land with the size of 140sqm (!!!), that she and her 4 brothers inherited 40 years ago from their parents She had frogotten to mention Try to find out. and still any advice appreciated!

[mike strand2]

She must go to the Citizens Service Centre who are generally really helpful and will advise what to do.

I'm sure the carer situation can be easily resolved as she's over 75 & has an automatic right to have a carer.

[die6]

I'm sure the carer situation can be easily resolved as she's over 75 & has an automatic right to have a carer.

You're sure???

[mike strand2]

A1. Criteria for employment:

i. Families with a child under the age of 12 when both parents work and contribute to the Social Insurance Fund.

ii. Families with no children when both husband and wife, work and their annual declared taxable income is more than €52.000.

iii. Single parent families granted the custody of a child under the age of 12, provided that the parent works and contributes to the Social Insurance Fund.

iv. In cases where one of the two parents works, the annual declared taxable income should be at least €86.000.

v. Single working persons provided that their annual declared taxable income is more than €52.000 and that they are contributing to the Social Insurance Fund.A2. Criteria for employment in exceptional cases:

i. Elderly people above the age of 75.

ii. People with special needs, provided that they present a certificate from a specialized doctor.

iii. People suffering from cancer (certificate from the Oncology Centre), multiple sclerosis (MS), mytonic dystrophy, nephropathy, myopathy, mental disorders and serious psychological problems, partial or total loss of vision, arthritis deformans, Alzheimer, dementia, as well as overweight persons with mobility problems (medical certificate mentioning the weight and the height of the person).
iv. Handicapped persons on wheelchairs or bed-bound persons.

http://www.moi.gov.cy/moi/crmd/crmd.nsf ... enDocument

[die6]

Thank you!!! I saw that last year, but forgot! Hope that means, that the lady gets the maid paid from the state!?!
No idea why they didn't tell her at the Service Center.

[Lofos-Jan]

She has the right to have a carer but this is not paid for by the state! The details above are just the criteria for anyone privately employing a housemaid. It's nothing to do with funding or allowances. I suspect they were paying privately before. The (up to) €400 allowance is not for a carer/housemaid specifically but is for help with personal care much like the DLA was in the U.K. It can be anything up to a maximum of €400 and she would need to be assessed. Whilst it's very kind of you to help her, I am wondering why her children are not organising all of this for her?

Jeanne

[die6]

...... good question! ......falling down on the job or something like that!
Looks like the lady is eligible but she cannot pay it from 520€ pension--- so no help???

[josef k]

The criteria for a maid as listed above is correct. Although these days they are called Domestic Workers. The wages, insurance etc are paid by the "cared for" individual, who is the employer. These amounts are laid down by law, detailed in the employment contract, and can't be reduced ( although they can be paid more, but this is unusual). Most Domestic Workers "live in" and get around 340 euros a month after deductions.
The Domestic Worker will be from either Sri Lanka, Nepal, or the Philippines, and sometimes Vietnam. Their employer is named on their residency papers and they can't change employer without permission from the Labour Department. They can stay for 4 or 5 years and then they have to leave the country. This period can, on a case by case basis, be extended by Immigration in the case of an older person being cared for. However, if the older person dies then the Domestic Worker has 4 weeks to pack up and leave.

People domiciled in Cyprus may not dispose by will of the whole of their estate if they have a surviving spouse, children or both. The undisposable portion is one half of the estate if the deceased leaves a spouse or parent but no children and three quarters of the estate if the deceased leaves children. This restriction does not apply to citizens of the United Kingdom or of most other Commonwealth countries apart from Cyprus.

[TLR]

Absolutely lovely of you to want to help, but please be careful.
This poor lady's family are responsible for her well being, they may not take kindly to your involvement.
Especially if it impacts their inheritance.

[die6]

Thank you so much for the advices so far.
The maid has been in the house for 6 years now and we try everything that she can stay. ''Grandma'' is nearly 86 now and definitely cannot stay alone.
And yes, the lady's family know about our involvment. There are many ''experts'' in this family (as often in Cyprus), a lot of blah blah,
but in the end no one brings about problems like this.

[PaphosAL]

Cannot make my mind up here, sorry... Are the four offspring of their poor old mother just waiting for her to pass away, so they can grab their inheritances ASAP?

Certainly, THEY should be collectively be helping to care for their dear old Mum, in her fading years, I would have thought... But yes, tread carefully (as already advised) on this one, die6

Cheers- Alan