From legacy benefits to Universal Credit

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Comments

  • liliana
    liliana Online Community Member Posts: 48 Connected

    Thanks for advice, honestly I do not know .Theyr decizion regarding UC50 do not mention .

  • liliana
    liliana Online Community Member Posts: 48 Connected

    Oooo so sorry Poppy, I was been confuzed 😊,I thought your question was addressed to me.

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,467 Championing

    Oh sorry about that. Another member asked a question on your thread, which I answered.

  • markwilliams12345
    markwilliams12345 Online Community Member Posts: 16 Connected

    thanks popy123456

    Any yes I do get the Severe Disability Premium?

  • gpoppleton
    gpoppleton Online Community Member Posts: 14 Connected

    Hi, I am so worried about receiving that brown envelope from DWP about going on to UC and I think im just worrying cause I'm not use to change and just being paid monthly and not every fortnight anymore. My support have said to me they won't see me drown anyway but the DWP they like to see people suffer and I dont think I could cope with it all. I am in the receipt of ESA support group with HB and also severe disability premium too and will I have a transition protection when I move over and I am so worried I'm going to be right behind on my bills cause I have housing benefit and council tax support too and I feel like I'm gonna lose all that when I go on to UC. I am in the receipt of PIP too and I've been awarded that till 2028

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,467 Championing

    When you do migrate across you will not be worse off because your UC will include Transitional Protection.

    As you're in the Support Group for ESA then you'll be entitled to the LCWRA element from the start of your claim. Your UC will also include help with the rent, unless you're living in either supported or temporary housing and then it will continue to be paid through housing benefit.

    Income Related ESA and housing benefit will both continue for 2 weeks once a claim for UC is submitted.

    PIP and council tax reduction are not part of UC so both will continue. However, your council tax reduction will be recalculated based on your UC entitlement.

    If you have difficulties managing monthly payments for UC then you can request an Alternative Payment Arrangement. (APA) This will mean you'll receive your UC twice a month instead of once a month. See link.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-alternative-payment-arrangements/alternative-payment-arrangements

    You can also request help with the rent to paid straight to your landlord if you prefer that.

  • gpoppleton
    gpoppleton Online Community Member Posts: 14 Connected

    Hi, I received my UC migration letter on the 17th January. I have got to claim my UC by 15th April and I have told my support worker and she's gonna help me with it on the 11th February. I was just wondering will I need to take any evidence with me council tax and etc with me on the day my support helps me with it.

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,467 Championing

    You will need to confirm your ID. If this can't be done online you will need to attend an appointment in person. If you can't attend in person you can ask for a telephone appointment. They will do a biographical appointment where they will ask you questions only you know the answer to, such as date of birth, who you bank with, what other benefits you claim etc.

    Do you rent your home from social/council housing or is it privately rented?

    As your ESA includes the SDP you would be better off claiming from 8th April onwards. This is because your UC will include Transitional `protection (TP) and this erodes when other elements increase or you become entitled to other elements. If you claim UC before 8th April when benefits increase this year your TP will decrease by the same amount so you won't be financially better off.

  • gpoppleton
    gpoppleton Online Community Member Posts: 14 Connected

    What you mean I'm better off claiming from 8th April cause my support worker is doing my UC migration letter on the 11th Feb cause my UC says claim by 15th April and why do I need appointment in person for aswell

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,467 Championing

    The reason I advise that was because your ESA includes the Severe disability Premium. For this reason your UC will also include Transitional Protection. This erodes when other elements increase so if you claim before 8th April when benefits increase you will not be any better off because the Transitional Protection will reduce by the same amount as in the increase.

    First appointments are usually in person at your local Job centre but as I advised, if you can't attend in person you can ask for a telephone appointment as a reasonable adjustment.

  • gpoppleton
    gpoppleton Online Community Member Posts: 14 Connected

    Hi poppy, I just wanted to ask something are they stopping people on Pip cause my neighbour today sent me this link about DWP stopping cash payments with people having anxiety & depression it's so worrying and I know I've got my pip till 2028

  • Kimmy87
    Kimmy87 Online Community Member Posts: 3,181 Championing

    The answer is no. There is lots of fake or misunderstood stuff going round at the moment. We won't know what Labour want to do to change things until the Spring.

  • gpoppleton
    gpoppleton Online Community Member Posts: 14 Connected

    It's making my mental health worse for me and the stress with moving over to UC too

  • Kimmy87
    Kimmy87 Online Community Member Posts: 3,181 Championing
    edited January 30

    As nothing official will be released until the Spring, the best thing you can do is stop Google searching, ignore well meaning neighbours or reading articles.

    Everything between now and then will only be speculation, opinion and probably inaccurate.

  • knucklehead
    knucklehead Online Community Member Posts: 31 Connected

    Can I just ask for clarification is it correct that IR ESA to UC is not taking place until 2028? Sorry if this has already been answered but I’m reading different conflicting information on different websites and stressed and confused. Thanks

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,467 Championing

    No, that's not correct anymore and ESA to UC migration is well under way. You should receive your migration letter anytime from now up until December 2025.

  • knucklehead
    knucklehead Online Community Member Posts: 31 Connected

    Thanks Poppy I thought that was probably the case. I haven’t received my migration letter yet but I’ve read in the local news that it won’t be long. I’m just trying to work out how much worse off I’m going to be. I’m on IR ESA with the enhanced disability premiums and SDA. I currently receive £962 per month and I’ve kind of worked out that Universal credit will pay around £809 per month. I understand that I will have Transitional Protection in place until I gradually am reduced down to the limit of normal UC rates then the TP will stop. This will take around 5 years I think ?

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,467 Championing

    Yes because your ESA includes the SDP then your UC will include TP. How long this lasts for will depend on your circumstances in the future. Some peoples TP will last much longer than others. You won't be worse off on point of migration though.

  • knucklehead
    knucklehead Online Community Member Posts: 31 Connected

    ok thank you. Does that ridiculous rule about moving house to another borough apply in this case. I mean if I moved to another town with a different housing authority would that mean I would lose the Transitional Protection on my UC?

  • Kimmy87
    Kimmy87 Online Community Member Posts: 3,181 Championing
    edited February 9