A little help needed please.

roseberry

I have been claiming contribution ESA. I have been assessed and placed into support group. My husband works so no entitlement to UC. Does anyone know how much my payments will be from now and if the payments will stop after a year or go on as long as I remain in the support group. Many thanks for your help, I’m finding the whole thing quite confusing. 

bg844

Your new weekly payment will be £129.50, paid fortnightly and backdated to the 13th week (if applicable). Support Group means your ESA will continue indefinitely and this can only change when you have a review in a few years time.

roseberry

Thank you very much, bg844. That’s very helpful. I wasn’t sure if that was the case as I know I won’t qualify for universal credit. 

chiarieds

Hi @roseberry - & welcome to the community. May I just ask if you've tried using a benefits calculator such as here: https://benefits-calculator.turn2us.org.uk/survey/1/1a66ddf2-53d2-47c4-bd55-3b6a7e20a8d5

Altho your husband works, & it does depend on your circumstances (joint savings, his income, etc), some people find themselves better off on UC.

Just mentioning this 'in case', &, as you're in the Support Group for ESA, you'd transfer into getting LCWRA with UC which pays an extra £390.06 a month. Let us know how you get on with the above calculator, & if you find you have more questions.

roseberry

Hi Chiarieds, thank you for your warm welcome and suggestions. I have looked at the benefits calculator and don’t think I would be entitled to anything. My husband is looking to retire next year and then I shall look again. However his pension is a SIPP and I don’t know if they are classed the same as savings. 

poppy123456

roseberry said:

Hi Chiarieds, thank you for your warm welcome and suggestions. I have looked at the benefits calculator and don’t think I would be entitled to anything. My husband is looking to retire next year and then I shall look again. However his pension is a SIPP and I don’t know if they are classed the same as savings. 

When you say retire do you mean reach state pension age? The SIPP is a personal pension and for Universal Credit purposes, this will be classed as "other income" and  reduce it £1 for £1.

roseberry

Hi Poppy,
thank you for that, he’s not at state pension age yet , but was going to live off his SIPP until he is I didn’t know wether the pension pot would count as savings.  When I did a benefits calculator the ESA ONLY COMES UP AT £71-20 which has been my assessment rate so I’m rather confused as I had expected it to go up to £129.50 less the amount deducted for my works pension after assessment. The DWP don’t make things easy do they. 

poppy123456

The extra money is paid from the 14th week after your claim started so when it's paid from will depend on what date your claim started.

A pension pot is ignored for savings from means tested benefits when you're under state pension age. If you access the pension pot then a weekly/monthly amount will affect means tested benefits. It won't affect your ESA because this is money for you.

If he withdraws a lump sum and it takes your total savings to more than £16,000 there will be no entitlement to any means tested benefits. There will be a deduction for every £250 or part there of over £6,000.

When you filled out the benefit calculator did you tick the box that says "Limited capability for work related activitity"? if you did then it will include the LCWRA element for UC and it will also include the work allowance. If you didn't please try doing it again to see what it comes out with.

If it shows entitlement then it may not be worth him accessing a weekly/monthly drawdown of the pension before he reaches state pension age.

Are you claiming either PIP daily living, DLA mid/high rate care or ADP daily living?

roseberry

Thanks for all that excellent information Poppy. I’ve qualified for standard rate daily living and enhanced mobility PIP. 

It sounds like it might be worth our while delaying drawing from the pension pot. What savings we have will soon be under £16000. 

I can’t remember even seeing a box for LCWRA however that might be because I didn’t put any claim for U/C on the form. I did however tick the support group box. I’ve just been put into the support group and have a call booked with my work coach on Monday so she might be able to point me in the right direction. 

Thanks again. 

L_Volunteer

How are you feeling about all of this at the moment @roseberry? 

poppy123456

The reason you’re not currently entitled to UC will be because you have savings of more than £16,000 as this means you’re excluded from all means tested benefits.

Once your savings drop below £16,000 then use the benefit calculator again. There will be a deduction of £4.35/month for every £250 or part there of over £6,000. Your pension will reduce the UC £1 for £1. 

As your PIP includes the daily living part if your partner cares for you for at least 35 hours per week then your UC will include the carer element. 

As you’re now in the Support Group you will no longer have a work coach as you won’t need to attend any further appointments. It’s also worth bearing in mind that a work coach isn’t a benefits advisor and would be the last person I would speak to for any benefits advice. 

roseberry

Hi Poppy,
sound advice re the work coaching think. The phone appointment was made before my assessment so might even be cancelled. 

Thanks also for the advice about savings and pensions. It all started to become a bit overwhelming there seem to be so so many things to consider. 

I will look into the carers allowance once my husband finish’s work. I don’t think we will be going down the U/C route, we have enough in the pension pot to get us both to state pension and that’s what we saved up, the rainy day, it’s now raining.  

roseberry

Hi L_Volunteer

Thank so much for asking, overwhelmed sums it up. I’m going to take a few days to process what I’ve been told then talk it over with my husband. 

 

Thanks again. IT’s so appreciated.