LCWRA while claiming as a carer

Poppy_90

Hi, I was wondering if anyone had insight on lcwra.

I receive carer's allowance for my daughter, I also get the carer's element on UC.
Basically I'm waiting for a lcwra assessment and I've read you can't be classed as a carer to be awarded it.

Do I need to remove the carer's element from UC to be awarded or can I not claim anything relating to being a carer including carer's allowance? 

poppy123456

You have read incorrectly or at least misunderstood it. You can be a carer and be found to have LCWRA. However, when claiming UC the same person can't receive both carers element and LCWRA element at the same time. The highest element will be paid instead, which means you would only receive the LCWRA element.

If you're claiming UC with a partner then they can claim carers element, assuming they look after your daughter for at least 35 hours per week and they're not claiming it for looking after someone else.

If you're not claiming with a partner and you're found to have LCWRA if there's any money owed you will only receive the difference between carers element and LCWRA, rather than the full LCWRA element.

You can still continue with carers allowance, however, there's no financial gain because the carers allowance is deducted in full from any UC entitlement. Though there are some advantages to claiming it, such as class 1 NI credits, where as UC is only class 3 and carers allowance can be paid weekly, where as UC is mostly monthly so it can help to budget a little easier.

Poppy_90

Thank you for the speedy response.

Everything I've seen about it has been on Tiktok and there's alot of confusing conflicting information so i thought I'd ask on a reputable site 😂

Do I need to remove the carer's element myself or will UC do this if I'm awarded? 

poppy123456

Hmm tiktok, is even worse than facebook and that's saying something. No, you do not need to do anything UC will sort that out if you're found to have LCWRA.

Jimm_Scope

Welcome @Poppy_90! Oh dear 2 Poppy's I'm gonna have to make sure I'm reading carefully 

@poppy123456 Has already answered your LCWRA question better than I ever could. Let us know if there's any other advice or support you need! We try to keep a nice and friendly community here It's a lot slower than tiktok too. There's less dancing as well, but I daresay there's better quality advice here than you could find scrawling through tiktok for eternity.