Help with UC claim

Carolevans_59

Hello and thank you for adding me to your Scope community. 
I am claiming Contribution based JSA this ends on June 21st. I will be making a UC claim soon. 
I am married and 63 hubby is 68. I claim carers allowance. My hubby is on AA higher rate. We don't share a bedroom due to his health issues but I am his only carer. We rent privately £530 month. 
My questions are I know CA amount is deducted from UC claim but will I still actually receive £307 per month as usual and carers element ? 
Also I think my husband will be able to get LWRCA even though he is retired ? If he can apply do you just write in journal for to apply ? Because on any online benefit checkers it's a bit misleading knowing what to put Though I'm assuming to put not claiming it there is no space to put apply??? 
I'm also hoping that we will receive help with the rent and council tax 
Thanks for reading this and any advice would be great 

Adrian_Scope

Hello @Carolevans_59 and a warm welcome to the community. 

Could I first of all ask if you and your husband are currently claiming anything else aside from contribution based JSA and your husband's AA? 

poppy123456

I’m assuming your husband is claiming his state pension? Does he receive any other pensions? 

Carolevans_59

Hi my husband gets AA higher rate State pension and small private pension of 103 per month. Thank-you 

Carolevans_59

Husband gets state pension and small private pension 103 month

Carolevans_59

Carers allowance for me and small pension month 48 

calcotti

You will both have to claim UC and any entitlement will depend on your joint finances. You should apply first and you will get a linking code which your husband will then use to link his claim to yours.

Your husband will need to declare his health difficulties and should get a Fit Note from his GP. However because of the AA your husband will be entitled to the LCWRA element of UC without a Work Capability Assessment. He needs to tell UC about the AA award. The LCWRA element will not be paid until the fourth month. (The Fit Note should not be needed but the claim will be processed more easily if he has one.)

Maximum UC amount would be made up of
standard couple allowance (£578.82/month)
LCWRA element (from 4th month - £390.06/month)
carer element (£185.86/month)
That comes to £1,154.44/month.
Because you rent you will also help with the rent. If you get the full £530 that brings the maximum entitlement to £1,684.44/month.

Your Carers Allowance will be deducted (£332.58/month)*
His private pension income will be deducted (£103/month)
Your pension pension income will be deducted (£48/month)
His State Pension will also be deducted in full. (If he gets £203.85/week that amounts to £883.85/month.)
The UC payable will be the balance due after all the deductions are made from the maximum entitlement. Those deductions come to £1,367.43/month. That would leave £317.01/month payable.

It looks to me likely that no UC will be payable until the fourth month when the LCWRA element is included (although it will depend on how much State Pension your husband gets).

* As you currently get new style JSA I assume that you are not currently getting Carer's Allowance. For UC you can get the carer element of UC without claiming Carer's Allowance so whether or not you claim Carer's Allowance will make to change to your overall income. Note too that if you want to do some work you cannot claim Carer's Allowance if you earn more than £139/week whereas there is no earnings limit for the carer element of UC.

Carolevans_59

Hi Thank-you for your reply. My husband gets £184.15 per week state pension as wasn't fully paid up. I thought I read that if you are a pensioner on AA you can get automatically Does that mean you still have to wait until fourth month anyway? Scary to wait four months 

Carolevans_59

Hi Thank-you for your reply. My husband gets £184.15 per week state pension as wasn't fully paid up. I thought I read that if you are a pensioner on AA you can get automatically Does that mean you still have to wait until fourth month anyway? Scary to wait four months 

calcotti

Carolevans_59 …. I thought I read that if you are a pensioner on AA you can get automatically Does that mean you still have to wait until fourth month anyway? Scary to wait four months 

Yes per my previous reply the three month waiting period for the LCWRA element still applies. (The exception would be if he has been told that if he terminally ill and a form SR1 has been issued.) 

calcotti said:

…because of the AA your husband will be entitled to the LCWRA element of UC without a Work Capability Assessment. ..The LCWRA element will not be paid until the fourth month.

The UC payable will be higher than I indicated because his pension is lower.

calcotti

When husband claims UC I recommend that he posts a note in his journal that he receives AA and that he understands that is entitled to be treated as having LCWRA without a Work Capability Assessment.

Carolevans_59

Hi Thank-you for your reply. My husband gets £184.15 per week state pension as wasn't fully paid up. I thought I read that if you are a pensioner on AA you can get automatically Does that mean you still have to wait until fourth month anyway? Scary to wait four months 

Carolevans_59

Thank-you for your help 

poppy123456

Carolevans_59 said:

 I thought I read that if you are a pensioner on AA you can get automatically Does that mean you still have to wait until fourth month anyway? Scary to wait four months 

You read correctly but as advised by calcotti, the waiting period will still apply, which means it's not paid until the 4th month of your claim.  The only time it will not apply is if applying because of end of life and then you will need the SRI form.

calcotti

Carolevans_59 said:

Hi Thank-you for your reply. My husband gets £184.15 per week state pension as wasn't fully paid up. I thought I read that if you are a pensioner on AA you can get automatically Does that mean you still have to wait until fourth month anyway? Scary to wait four months 

I already replied to that when I responded to the first time you asked the samequestion.

calcotti said:

Carolevans_59 …. I thought I read that if you are a pensioner on AA you can get automatically Does that mean you still have to wait until fourth month anyway? Scary to wait four months 

Yes per my previous reply the three month waiting period for the LCWRA element still applies. (The exception would be if he has been told that if he terminally ill and a form SR1 has been issued.) 

calcotti said:

…because of the AA your husband will be entitled to the LCWRA element of UC without a Work Capability Assessment. ..The LCWRA element will not be paid until the fourth month.

The UC payable will be higher than I indicated because his pension is lower.

Carolevans_59

Thank-you for your help 

Carolevans_59

Just a quick question please. If my claim was valid with LWRCA but there was other elements owed. Do u have to wait the four months for payment owed as well as LWRCA or would anything due be paid after 5 weeks Then LWRCA on month four ? Thanks for your time. 

poppy123456

Carolevans_59 said:

Just a quick question please. If my claim was valid with LWRCA but there was other elements owed. Do u have to wait the four months for payment owed as well as LWRCA or would anything due be paid after 5 weeks Then LWRCA on month four ? Thanks for your time. 

The waiting period only applies to LCWRA element. Once you claim UC your first payment will be 1 month and 6 days later. (which will not include the LCWRA element) You will receive your statement which will tell you all the elements you're entitled to and all the deductions. On there it will tell you what payment (if any) will be paid into your bank. 

With the deductions for his state pension, your carers allowance and both pensions there will only be a very small entitlement until the LCWRA element is paid. (assuming you're entitled to the full £530 rent) If your housing element is less then they may not be any entitlement.

Carolevans_59

Hi and thank you again. 
I have looked at LHA for my area think for my house the allowance its £398 So not good for us then unless I can claim housing benefit 

poppy123456

New claims for housing benefit are no longer possible for working age people (or mixed aged people) unless you’re either living in supported or temporary housing. 

Help with the rent will be covered in with your UC. When using the LHA calculator please be aware that this is a weekly amount so you will need to convert it to a monthly figure. To do this you times the amount by 52 and then divide by 12. 

It’s still worth claiming because of the LCWRA element from the 4th month will mean there will be some entitlement. He will need to make sure he reports his health condition when he claims and tell them he’s claiming AA. 

calcotti

Carolevans_59 said:

Hi and thank you again. 
I have looked at LHA for my area think for my house the allowance its £398 So not good for us then unless I can claim housing benefit 

By default, as a couple, you would be entitled to the one bedroom rate but if you persuade UC that there is a medical need for you to have separate bedrooms you would get the two bedroom rate.