Concern for vulnerable grows as those on lifeline benefit face `second mortgage´
(The Guardian Money News)

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...