Concern for vulnerable grows as those on lifeline benefit face ‘second mortgage’Last May, James Martin* decided to give up work and look after his mother full time after she was diagnosed with cancer. A few months later, his father suffered a stroke, leaving the 49-year-old as the main carer for both parents. With income support and carer’s allowance, he receives £108 a week, meaning that the chances of paying his mortgage every month is remote. There is some relief, in that he receives the Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) benefit, a payment which has been in place for the last 70 years to help financially constrained homeowners with their repayments.From April, however, it will stop and be replaced by a new “second mortgage” scheme where the government offers to loan people the money, which will then be repaid later. Continue reading…
Source : theguardian.com
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