Private pension lump sum withdrawal

berry61

Hi everyone,

I did post about this a couple of months ago regarding withdrawal of £6K from my private pension pot. @Poppy12345 did reply at the time with some very good advice for me about pension lump sums being regarded as savings upto £6K are allowed.

As I stated last time I am going to use the £6K lump sum to pay off my credit card debt and i was told that this is acceptable by UC tompay off debt.

Will this lump sum amount affect anything with UC if we currently have approx £1200 in bank accounts as well, even though the lump sum will be literally going straight in and out of my bank account with a couple of days to pay off this debt and I can prove this with bank and credit card statements. Also do I have to declare this on my journal if it is allowed.

I will be requesting this lump sum next week as it takes approx 3 weeks to process, so I can be sure that the funds will be in and out of my bank account before next months assessment period ends on the 25th July as it is too late to request now in case it arrives before the 25th June and I don't have time to pay it out before the new assessment starts again on the 26th june.

Thanks for any advice I just want it clear in my head that everything is being done correctly without any affect on my UC.

poppy123456

As long as you pay off your debt before the last day of your AP as you correctly stated then it will not affect your UC. You should still report it but then tell them that you paid off your debt with it. They may ask for proof of that so you can send them what you have. The reason I advise to report it is because they will find out eventually anyway because it's a pension drawdown.

berry61

Thanks poppy thats is all I needed to know.

I noticed you mentioned on another thread you were going to see Taylor swift in concert with your daughter, hope you all had a great weekend thank you

poppy123456

You're welcome. We had the best time! Thank you for asking, that's very kind of you. ☺️

berry61

HI poppy just thought I would let you know I've just got the result of my WCA today, good news I've been awarded LCWRA for at least a minimum of 12 months then a annual review afterwards. Thanks for your help and advice when I was completing the questionnaire.

poppy123456

That's awesome news! Thank you for the update. Just so that you're aware there's no time limit for LCWRA because it's an ongoing award until a new decision says otherwise. This is why there's no end dates on decision letters. I'm assuming you asked them how long it's for? They will tell you when your review is expected but this doesn't mean you will be reviewed on that date.

When you do eventually have your review you will receive a letter on your journal telling you they are referring you, the same as they did the first time.

berry61

Thanks Poppy,

It's Been very quick only had the WCA on the 26th May and the assessment itself as I said previously didn't last more than 20mins on the phone.

I Didn't ask how long the award was for , on my journal it states ..

You have been found to have limited capability for work related activities and we have been asked to review your circumstances in 12 months, you will be sent a letter advising you when any review starts.

I understand I will loose the carers element now for looking after my wife on our UC, so will I be then allowed to keep any of this extra money to replace that lost amount , as lcwra deducts £1 for £1 regards UC.

Can I just ask as well my fit notes are still active regards my employer and I will need another soon once I've been to hospital post surgery clinic, so can i still receive ssp for upto 28weeks and get lcwra or will ssp stop now.

Thank You

poppy123456

Yes, carers element will now be removed from the 4th month after you provided your first fit note. LCWRA element is not deducted £1 for £1 at all, you've misunderstood that. LCWRA is part of UC so there's nothing to deduct.

Carers element is £189.31/month and LCWRA element is £416.31/month. However, as you migrated from TC, whether you'll be any financially better off will depend on whether your UC includes TP. If it does and it's more than £226.88/month then you won't be any better off because the addition of LCWRA element will erode your TP.

To add further, as you're also claiming SSP from your employer, which is earnings you will now have the work allowance. I don't think you have children on your claim, right? So the work allowance wouldn't have previously applied to you.

This means that a certain amount of earnings received each month is ignored before the 55% deductions apply. If you claim for help with the rent it will be £404/month, if you don't it will be £673/month. So, in fact you will be better off due to the earnings disregard. This will apply from the assessment period in which you provided your first fit note.

Yes, you can still receive SSP as normal.

berry61

Thanks poppy,

Sorry for the delayed reply.

That explains a great deal. We don't have children or pay any rent as we are home owners.

So because im receiving ssp which counts as earnings im entitled to the work allowance element, but what happens once my ssp stops in approx 3 months time and i dont return to my job or indeed take another job would the work element stop and we would loose that extra amount of entitlement.

Thanks

Take care

poppy123456

No problem. Your understanding of the work allowance is incorrect. It's not an element. It's an amount of earnings that's disregarded before the deductions apply. Therefore, if you have no earnings then the WA is irrelevant. See link. https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/work-allowance-universal-credit

As you're not claiming help with the rent it will be the higher work allowance of £673/month. Which means all of your SSP will be disregarded.

They will also owe you some money due to the WA. Money owed will be paid separately to your usual monthly money and often takes quite a few weeks to pay it.

berry61

Thanks poppy,

I will get my head around all this eventually 🫣

I am very grateful for all the help and advice you've given since my first contact back in January before the WTC migration.

Take care of yourself and I look forward to any communication with you in the future.

Thanks

poppy123456

You're very welcome! It's been a pleasure to advise you along your way. Let's just say the benefits system is a nightmare and UC is even worse. It took me a couple of years to get my head around it.

At least now you can relax a little knowing the assessment is all done and the right decision was made. Take care of yourself too and hopefully, we will see some summer this year. 🤐

berry61

Hi @poppy123456

It's been a while since you replied to me about this thread regards myself being awarded lcwra.

You mentioned UC will owe me some money because of the work allowance being back dated to when i sent in my first fitnote on 16th march 2024 and the award letter for lcwra was the 11th June 2024. How long should a wait before contacting UC if I don't hear from them. The award letter states if we owe you any money we will be in touch.

Thanks

poppy123456

That's a standard letter you received. I would have expected you to have heard something by now. Yet again, UC are not quick enough in paying what is owed to people. It really does frustrate me.

Please put a message onto your journal and ask about the money that's owed to you for the work allowance and put it in the payment section.

berry61

Thanks poppy,

I will do that and see what happens.

Take care

berry61

Hi @poppy12345

Thanks for your help regards back dated work allowance payment owed to us after being awarded lcwra.

I posted a note on my journal and today received the letter and journal saying a back payment of over £1000 is due on the 18th July.

I wouldn't have know anything about a back payment if you hadn't said anything so a big big thank you.

Take care

poppy123456

You're very welcome! That's brilliant news! Glad to hear they finally paid what they owe you. I'm always happy to advise anyone I can.