Simple tasks like visiting the bathroom, showering, and visiting family & friends can be a real burden for those with mobility impairment. Solutions including bathroom adaptation, mobility scooters & wheelchairs, and home & living solutions can really improve people’s lives and make them safer, giving them independence and improving overall quality of life.
Something we’re commonly asked is to provide information and offer a guide to finance for disabled, elderly and bariatric clients. In this guide we look at finance options – What money is available to support mobility, home adaptations and living solutions.
What Financial Help Is Available For Disabled Children, Adults and Elderly Parents?
Not everyone can afford to finance and pay privately for equipment and living solutions. There are a number of financial assistance options available that can help people access the solutions they need. Here’s our finance guide for disabled, elderly and bariatric clients;
Government Benefits and Disability Allowances Including PIP, DLA and ESA
There are a wide range of disability-related financial support from the Government available, including;
• Disability Living Allowance for Children (DLA)
• Disability Living Allowance for Adults (DLA)
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
• Attendance Allowance
• Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Carers Allowance and Carers Credit
• Working Tax Credit Disability Element
Much more can be found on the UK Government website here. In Northern Ireland, assessments are carried out by your local trust. You can find the trust nearest to you by searching on the NI Direct website. Your local trust will decide whether they will fund the equipment or minor adaptation or whether you’ll have to pay for it yourself.
Disabled Facilities Grant – Eligibility and Claiming
For more major adaptations to make your home accessible you will normally have to apply for a Disabled Facilities Grant. These are paid by your Local Housing Executive if you live in Northern Ireland.
You can apply for a Disabled Facilities Grant if your local authority is satisfied that the work you’re having done is necessary and appropriate for your needs. This usually involves an assessment by an Occupational Therapist. The grants are means-tested (unless you’re applying for a disabled child under the age of 17), so the local authority will take into account any income and savings that you and your partner have.
Find out more about claiming Disabled Facilities Grants in Northern Ireland on the NI Direct website.
Mobility Scooter Finance Scheme With Motability
With the Motability Scheme, people entitled to receive a specific mobility allowance (allowances listed below) can fully exchange it or partially use it to lease a car, mobility scooter, or powered wheelchair. Yes, it’s as simple as that. Moreover, leasing with Motability comes with a great set of extra benefits, including Insurance, servicing, breakdown recovery, and tyres & battery replacement.
In order to be eligible for the Motability scheme, it is compulsory that you receive one of the following allowances;
• Higher Rate Mobility Component of the Disability Living Allowance (HRMC or DLA)
• Enhanced Rate of the Mobility Component of Personal Independence Payment (ERMC of PIP)
• War Pensioners’ Mobility Supplement (WPMS)
• Armed Forces Independent Payment (AFIP)
The payment for the scooter lease is spread over three years and it is made every four weeks. It is deducted from the customer’s mobility allowance and it is directly sent from the Department of Work and Pensions or Veterans UK to Motability Operations without the end user worrying about any single payment.
Please note Motability is not available if you do not receive any of the aforementioned allowances (HRMS/DLA, ERMC/PIP, WPMS, AFIP), or have less than 12 months remaining on your award by the time you apply for the scheme.
Read our full guide on the Motability scheme here.
Mobility Scooter Trade-In Scheme Northern Ireland
If you have an old or unused mobility scooter or wheelchair, Sync Living can help with trade-ins. This is all a part of our service to you; helping you save money, and making your life easier. Where we’re not able to resell scooters, we will ensure that the key components including batteries are recycled, in a push to help mitigate our environmental impact.
Payment Plans For Mobility, Bathroom, and Living Equipment
First Senior Finance provide a simple way to borrow money to purchase a product and enjoy the immediate benefits, then repay the money over an agreed time with a simple payment plan. Spreading the payments out monthly will enable you to purchase a little more than if you had to rely on a single upfront payment.
Repayments are pre-agreed and fixed, meaning the payment amount will never go up. These are easy to arrange and set up, and usually done in a short turnaround. Low deposits are required, and payments are made by Direct Debit for ease. No medical certificate is required, and there’s no upper age limit.
Alternatively, you can speak to your own banking institutions or credit unions for a personal loan, as these can usually offer extremely competitive rates of credit and finance.
VAT Relief and Refunds On Disability Equipment
If you’re disabled or have a long-term illness, you will not be charged VAT on products designed or adapted for your own personal or domestic use. Also, you will not be charged VAT on the installation and any extra work needed as part of this, repairs or maintenance, spare parts or accessories.
You can either reclaim the VAT yourself, or have your service provider do it for you.
Council Tax Disabled Band Reduction Scheme
If adaptations made to your home push your property into a higher Council Tax band, you might be entitled to a discount on your Council Tax. This is called the ‘Disabled Band Reduction Scheme’ and more information can be found here.
Pop In To Sync Living For A Cuppa!
If you are still unsure of the options available to you or would like some reassurance, our team of experts are always on hand to help. We have over 25 years experience helping 1,000’s of customers around Northern Ireland and ROI. You can call Sync Living on +44 (0)28 9074 5333, send us a message here, or pop into our store for a cuppa! We’ll be more than happy to help!