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New style esa and uc ! Help

solitarypants

So we’re in the process of migrating from legacy esa to uc!
get a letter today saying we will be getting new style esa! (£545 ish per month)

Here’s my confusion!
so in uc there’s the basic element for a couple (£617 per month)
plus the lwrca (400 ish per month) which we should automatically get as we coming from old esa (support group)
plus housing element (£451 per month)
all in roughly £1451 per month
so they will deduct the new style esa from the whole of the universal credit award?
we will be no better off financially! As one deducted from the other……

Gosh this is all so confusing!!!!!!!!
Am I correct or completely wrong
any help much appreciated
my anxiety has ramped right up about this!!!
SP x

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poppy123456

As part of the ESA was contributions based this will revert to New style, which it already has. Yes, it's deducted in full from any UC entitlement.

Remember the deduction is calculated as weekly amount times 52 and then divide by 12. This is because ESA is a weekly benefit and UC is a monthly benefit and there's more than 4 weeks in a month.

If you claimed UC before 8th April then your first payment will include the old rates from 2023/24, so it will be slightly less for each element. You won't see the increase until the following payment.

Your question about being no better off? I see I advised you sometime ago to check entitlement to UC because of the non dependent deductions for your housing benefit, as your daughter is living with you. See thread.https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/115372/stopping-housing-benefit#latest

If you had continued with your previous benefits then your HB may have ended, like you said in that thread. Now you're claiming UC the non dependent deductions are more generous so the deduction for your daughter will be £85.73/month. It would have been a lot more than this had you remained on HB. For this reason you should actually be better off by claiming UC. Your UC includes help with the rent, which you wouldn't have been entitled to had you remained on legacy benefits.

solitarypants

Ahh yes I was just checking my rough calculations were correct!

we were income related esa before not contribution based that why I was confused about being put on the new style esa!

What I meant was by being no better off is as we will get both new style esa and uc together ….. one will be deducted from the other ….

I understood about the hb stuff! Means my daughter won’t half over half her wages taken in rent and c/tax!

Thanks for ur help again!!!

poppy123456

solitarypants said:

Ahh yes I was just checking my rough calculations were correct!
we were income related esa before not contribution based that why I was confused about being put on the new style esa!

Although it was known as Income Related, what it actually was, was contributions based with an income Related top up. When you claimed UC the contribution based would continue but revert to New style.

solitarypants said:

What I meant was by being no better off is as we will get both new style esa and uc together ….. one will be deducted from the other ….

That's not correct because you will be better off. Even without housing element in your UC you would still be slightly better off because LCWRA for UC pays more than ESA Support Group because your ESA didn't include the SDP.

solitarypants

Ahh ok gotcha thanks

it’s all soo confusing!!!!

Thanks so much for all
ur help