LCWRA Help

L33roy

Hi all,
I've a question and I'm hoping someone can explain it as I can't make sense of it sorry, hear goes I currently claim ESA and I've just been awarded LCWRA I have a UC account still open but I only get the LCWRA as with getting ESA, now ESA have put me in the support group so the payment I receive is £259 every two weeks and the LCWRA is £390 every fourth week, on my statement every time they do an assessment they add the UC element and LCWRA element together which is £368 plus £390 equals £758 they then take the ESA I have received in that assessment which will be the £259 twice so that's £561 which leaves me with a payment of £140 as I have some deductions for the rest that's missing, so I have been told that my LCWRA shouldn't be deducted with me getting ESA support group so it caused abit of confusion and I'm hoping someone can explain it for me thanks in advance.
Lee

poppy123456

You were advised incorrectly i'm afraid. When claiming ESA as well as UC the ESA is deducted in full from any UC entitlement. ESA is a weekly benefit, paid fortnightly. UC is a monthly benefit. To work out the deductions for UC you do the following. £129.50 x 52 = £6,734 divided by 12 = £561.16/month.

The deduction for your ESA reduces your whole UC amount and not just part of it. If your UC doesn't include help with any rent and you're a single person aged 25 or over then your UC maximum entitlement will be as follows.

Standard allowance (25 and over) £368.74

LCWRA element £390.06

Total UC before deductions =£758.80 - £561.16 for ESA.

Total UC payable £197.64/month (unless there's deductions for something else)  then the ESA of £259/fortnight.

UC tops up your income, without this you would just be receiving £259/fortnight.

Edit cross posted with Adrian.

Adrian_Scope

Hello @L33roy and welcome to the community.  

Who told you that LCWRA shouldn't be deducted? I think they've maybe misunderstood what's happening.

As you are claiming ESA as well as Universal Credit, you are what is known as a 'dual claimant'.

ESA is classed as an overlapping benefit so is deducted in full from your Universal Credit. This is taken from your total award, not a specific part. 

So it sounds as though your claim is correct. Your UC includes your standard allowance and extra for LCWRA. And as you're getting ESA alongside UC, they deduct the full amount of ESA from your total UC award.

Edit to add: I didn't spot Poppy's detailed response before I replied, thank you Poppy. I hope we've been able to help you @L33roy but please ask if you have any other questions. 

poppy123456

Adrian_Scope said:

Edit to add: I didn't spot Poppy's detailed response before I replied, thank you Poppy. I hope we've been able to help you @L33roy but please ask if you have any other questions. 

No worries, same here. I didn't see your response until after i posted. Looks like we posted within seconds of each other. Thankfully, our advice was the same

L33roy

Hi guys,
Thank you for your quick responses to my question, that clears up the confusion thank you once again 
Regards 
Lee

Adrian_Scope

You're welcome @L33roy. Have a great day and please let us know if we can help with anything else.