LCWRA and Postgraduate Loan

moonshadow_

Hello, hoping someone might be be able to help. I didn't realise that student postgraduate loan is counted towards income so I'm both anxious and deflated and have a few questions so I can try move forward in the best way.

I am on enhanced rate both components of PIP. I have a 2 year old (loan parent) and so have not applied for LCWRA as there hasn't been much pressure/contact. I also didn't realise I would get extra support and pip process was gruelling. In terms of LCWRA;

I have had the UC50 form before and started to fill in before pain / anxiety took over. I thought I could just send that but I'm seeing a lot about fit for work notes. Do you have to do this aswell ? Or is it just some people have to do that in order to get a UC50 form?

How likely are you to have an assessment in person? This fills me with dread. I have a lot of evidence does this make a difference? My main issue is a mobility / pain problem but I also have anxiety disorder which is main reason I have not gone for this PIP messed me up for months.

I know they are different and have different measures but I had seen somewhere say if you managed to get enhanced pip you are likely to get LCWRA as its easier to get. Is this true ? I have had a look at will get 15 points on mobility part and another 9 and 6 or 9 2 other parts. Are they less harsh, I have seen some people say they have had it without any evidence.

I don't understand at what point ESA comes in to it. I can see people can be on UC and LCWRA so what is the point in ESA ? I thought ESA been phased out? Should I be trying to move to ESA?

Finally, thinking about how this relates to being a student. The motivating factor of applying is to get more financial support because we are struggling and because I can't afford to loose UC money due to masters, obviously I'm not going to put my child in further poverty. 

Is there any way deductions won't be made if I am a lone parent and on pip without being on LCWRA? If I don't manage to get LCWRA am I right in understanding my HB won't be touched?

Am I right in understanding if I am receipt of LCWRA *and* PIP I won't have any deductions ? And still receive the LCWRA amount? 

If I have LCWRA and I have to declare the student loan "income" (lol) will they not be like well I thought you were so disabled you can't work but your doing a full time MA? What would be the consequence of this? 

I understand that it's easier to get UC maybe with less deductions (as it works out over a longer period) if your course is part-time. Is this true?

I just have researched and googled and I have zero maths ability due to dyslexia and severe dyscalculia.. I just can't get to grips with how much money I would be losing per month  does anyone have experience? Is 50? Or more like 200? I would have no idea if jobcentre had made a mistake - which seems common.. 

If I manage to get university or charity grants are these counted as income too? 

Any other advice relating to this that have not been covered above would so much appreciate it.

poppy123456

Any maintenance loan available to you will affect your UC regardless of whether you take that loan or not. I have no idea how they were out how much your UC is reduced i'm afraid.

If you claim a disabled student allowance this will not be classed as income.

Your Enhanced PIP will have no relevance on any LCWRA decision because as you correctly said, they are two completely different benefits.

When you have a health condition you should report a change of circumstances and tell them about your health condition. This will then prompt you to report a fit note within 7 days. You should then continue to send in fit notes until a decision is made on your work capability assessment. Failure to report fit notes can affect when the LCWRA starts from if found to have this.

moonshadow_ said:

I have had the UC50 form before and started to fill in before pain / anxiety took over. I thought I could just send that but I'm seeing a lot about fit for work notes. Do you have to do this aswell ? Or is it just some people have to do that in order to get a UC50 form?

When did you receive that UC50 form?

Most people have assessments which are mostly done by telephone. Some are video and face to face at an assessment centre.

L_Volunteer

I would just like to add a warm welcome @moonshadow_. It is great to see you have joined us.

Please don't hesitate to let us know if there's anything else we can do to support you. We are all here for you and listening to you 

moonshadow_

poppy123456 said:

Any maintenance loan available to you will affect your UC regardless of whether you take that loan or not. I have no idea how they were out how much your UC is reduced i'm afraid.

If you claim a disabled student allowance this will not be classed as income.

Your Enhanced PIP will have no relevance on any LCWRA decision because as you correctly said, they are two completely different benefits.

When you have a health condition you should report a change of circumstances and tell them about your health condition. This will then prompt you to report a fit note within 7 days. You should then continue to send in fit notes until a decision is made on your work capability assessment. Failure to report fit notes can affect when the LCWRA starts from if found to have this.

moonshadow_ said:

I have had the UC50 form before and started to fill in before pain / anxiety took over. I thought I could just send that but I'm seeing a lot about fit for work notes. Do you have to do this aswell ? Or is it just some people have to do that in order to get a UC50 form?

When did you receive that UC50 form?

Most people have assessments which are mostly done by telephone. Some are video and face to face at an assessment centre.

Thanks for answering long winded post. Hard to organise all thoughts right now. Its good to know most people have assessments via phone. So I just requested the UC50 on 16th May 2021 and got sent to me out 23. There hasn't been a change in my condition though its always been the same and is said this to my advisor when I first requested. So in order to nit get punished in change of circumstances I would have to make within this assessment period but the all of my evidence for the UC50 would be long standing. Could I not just submit the UC50 or would this mean if awarded I wouldn't get back pay or would affect the assessment 

moonshadow_

Sorry 2022 not 2021! I got the UC50.. im just confused about why I have to do the fit notes if I can just submit the form..

Also regarding deductions. I thought I read if you are on LCWRA and pip they don't do any deductions. 

In terms of calculations anyone else had experience? I read something like they take a 3rd of the total max student loan s income and then use that to calculate deductions but then there was something about £150 disregarded ??

moonshadow_

Oh yes and in terms of fit notes.. I get paid on the 5th so how would I pick a date that doesn't mean I get penalised for change of circumstances?

Thanks so much 

poppy123456

If you received the UC50 form in May 2022 did you return that form and was a decision made on that? Sorry but it’s extremely difficult to follow your timeline.

There seems to be a gap somewhere because you mention receiving the form last year and then mention returning it now, it doesn’t work like that. If you didn’t return it were you found fit for work? 

moonshadow_ said:

Also regarding deductions. I thought I read if you are on LCWRA and pip they don't do any deductions. 

I have no idea what you mean by that. PIP has no affect on your UC. 

I’d advise you to contact disabled students helpline for any help you need to student questions. https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/disabled-students-helpline

moonshadow_

poppy123456 said:

If you received the UC50 form in May 2022 did you return that form and was a decision made on that? Sorry but it’s extremely difficult to follow your timeline.

There seems to be a gap somewhere because you mention receiving the form last year and then mention returning it now, it doesn’t work like that. If you didn’t return it were you found fit for work? 

moonshadow_ said:

Also regarding deductions. I thought I read if you are on LCWRA and pip they don't do any deductions. 

I have no idea what you mean by that. PIP has no affect on your UC. 

I’d advise you to contact disabled students helpline for any help you need to student questions. https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/disabled-students-helpline

Hi poppy123456 thanks for responding again. 

Sorry it is disorganised. To clarify I never sent the form back. I was not able to do it and didn't have the support in place. My child was also young and I was in the no work commitment group anyway and had a back pay from PIP. I requested the form, the form was sent to me. I did not return the form. An assessment was not made.

I understand PIP and LCWRA are different benefits with different criteria. However in terms of accessing UC and how deductions are made I was sure I read somewhere that if you are on UC and in receipt of LCWRA and PIP then it ticks a certain box. But it's ok I can try and find that information again.

If you are on LCWRA which is apart of your LCWRA are deductions made.. im trying to understand if the LCWRA payment will offset deductions. 


Thanks again,

poppy123456

LCWRA is part of UC and there's no deductions made, LCWRA increases your maximum UC entitlement. PIP is completely separate benefit. Are you thinking of the work allowance? You will already have this because you have a child on your claim. The work allowance means a certain amount of earnings received each month will be ignored before any deductions apply.

When you didn't return the work capability assessment form were you found fit for work?

moonshadow_

poppy123456 said:

LCWRA is part of UC and there's no deductions made, LCWRA increases your maximum UC entitlement. PIP is completely separate benefit. Are you thinking of the work allowance? You will already have this because you have a child on your claim. The work allowance means a certain amount of earnings received each month will be ignored before any deductions apply.

When you didn't return the work capability assessment form were you found fit for work?

I am very clear that PIP is separate. Whilst mentioning PIP I have said each time that I  realise PIP is separate from UC. What I am saying is there was a piece of information I read (which may well be incorrect) that talked about qualifying for UC and not getting deductions whilst being a student you would need to have LCWRA in addition to another disability benefit such as PIP. BUT it's ok 😅. I can go back and find it, don't worry.. Also I am a lone parent anyway so would still be entitled to PIP its just about trying to anticipate deductions. It may have been referring to work allowance that would make sense but I'm unsure how PIP relates to that. Anyway just delete that query.

The main thing I want to understand is about applying for LCWRA now and a) if I need to do the fit notes b) how I do change of circumstances for an ongoing disability without being penalised.

When I did not return the work capability form I have no idea if I was determined fit for work. It was never assessed and what i said previously is that I have a child under 1 so had no work commitments anyway. I am currently in the fit for work group as no consideration to my disability have ever been assessed or made.. due to child being 2 I am in the preparing for work.

Thanks for your patience and support. I was also hoping to hear anecdotally from people maybe who have gone through something similar 

moonshadow_

Hey @poppy123456 I have just read this.. which explains plainly why I need to do fit note and change of circumstances.

"The extra money is paid from the fourth full monthly assessment period that starts after you first reported your health condition to UC supported by continuous Fit Notes"

This makes sense. You said something similar but this wording helped. Ok. After I have done my change in circumstances and first fit note I am then going to request a uc50. Why would you wait until they make a decision after multiple fit notes if they can just send you the form. When I originally requested the form it was based on advice from the scope helpline.

poppy123456

I think you’re thinking of the rules that full time students can only claim UC unless they have been found to have LCW and they claim a disability benefit such as PIP. However, this doesn’t apply to you because you have a child. 

You can report your health condition again by reporting a change of circumstances and then click health condition. You will then need to send a fit note within 7 days of that and continue to send them without any gaps until a decision is made on your WCA.

The best time to report a health condition is on the first day of your assessment period or close to the end of an assessment period. It will probably be better to get a fit note before reporting your health condition and then you have it ready. 

Students and UC is a very grey area and this is why I posted a link to the disabled students helpline because they are the best ones to speak to regarding student maintenance loans. 

moonshadow_

Thanks it's all starting to come together. You are right about the rules about claiming UC which us irrelevant for me anyway. It's a total minefield and I have minus capacity and trying to urgently respond. 

Info about fit notes super clear. Thank you so much! Important advice about when to do it. I'm not sure when my assessment period is, will it say on my UC account. Can you only get a fit note from the gp ? Can you self certify? If so how do you do that?

I will give the helpline a call too but you have given me lots to work with.

moonshadow_

It is asking me when the sick note is required from. Does this matter? Shall I do this within the assessment period too ?

poppy123456

When you report your health condition, you have 7 days to then report a fit note, failure to do that can affect when the extra money is paid from if found to have LCWRA, so you really do need a fit note. Who ver provides the fit note will put a start date on it. Self certify is only for 7 days.

A doctor, Nurse, Pharmacist, Physiotherapist or Occupational Therapist can provide a fit note for you. See link. https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/caring-carers-and-long-term-conditions/can-i-get-a-fit-note-without-seeing-a-healthcare-professional/

If you log into your journal, click "home" then payments and at the top of there it will tell you when your assessment periods (AP) are. It will say "the amount you get is based on your circumstances from X to Y date" or if you can tell me what date you usually receive your money each month i can tell you when your APs are.

moonshadow_

poppy123456 said:

Any maintenance loan available to you will affect your UC regardless of whether you take that loan or not. I have no idea how they were out how much your UC is reduced i'm afraid.

If you claim a disabled student allowance this will not be classed as income.

Your Enhanced PIP will have no relevance on any LCWRA decision because as you correctly said, they are two completely different benefits.

When you have a health condition you should report a change of circumstances and tell them about your health condition. This will then prompt you to report a fit note within 7 days. You should then continue to send in fit notes until a decision is made on your work capability assessment. Failure to report fit notes can affect when the LCWRA starts from if found to have this.

moonshadow_ said:

I have had the UC50 form before and started to fill in before pain / anxiety took over. I thought I could just send that but I'm seeing a lot about fit for work notes. Do you have to do this aswell ? Or is it just some people have to do that in order to get a UC50 form?

When did you receive that UC50 form?

Most people have assessments which are mostly done by telephone. Some are video and face to face at an assessment centre.

Thanks for answering long winded post. Hard to organise all thoughts right now. Its good to know most people have assessments via phone. So I just requested the UC50 on 16th May 2021 and got sent to me out 23. There hasn't been a change in my condition though its always been the same and is said this to my advisor when I first requested. So in order to nit get punished in change of circumstances I would have to make within this assessment period but the all of my evidence for the UC50 would be long standing. Could I not just submit the UC50 or would this mean if awarded I wouldn't get back pay or would affect the assessment? Hope that makes sense thanks so much poppy

poppy123456

You keep saying May 2021 but do you mean May 2022? They are very strict about returning the WCA form but there are some exceptions to this and if there's a marker on your file they can proceed without the form. Are you sure you didn't receive any further letters on your journal when you didn't return that form? Please have a look through your journal.

If you didn't then you can contact the Health Assessment Advisory Service and ask them if they still have a file open for you. Contact details here, which includes a phone number and email address. https://chdauk.co.uk/about-us/contact-us/

Usually you need to report a health condition supported by continuous fit notes. Note sending the fit notes can affect when the extra money is paid from if found to have LCWRA as i advised.