LCWRA, UC and new style ESA

berry61

Hello,

I have read a few threads on this forum and discussed with @poppy123456 about the above benefits but need some clarification regards our situation.

As a couple we receive UC with one after migration from WTC and one carers element (my wife cares for me), I have just been awarded LCWRA last month and we both get PIP standard daily living and standard mobility.

My wife works 16 hours per week and I am currently on week 15 of SSP and will be for the full 28 week entitlement and won't be returning my job.

Am I correct that I can claim new style ESA and I would be placed in the support group because I already get LCWRA ? and if so when can I actually make this claim for ESA ,do I wait until ssp ends from my employer ?

My wife is in a work meeting today 15th July about there work contracted hours so she will be reduced to 12 hours per week very soon.

One more thing please, I have read on another thread about ESA and private pension and am I correct in thinking that I can take upto £85 per week without it affecting any ESA amount ?

Thanks for any advise.

poppy123456

Good morning, I hope you and your wife are both well.

You can start a claim for New style ESA (NsESA) 3 months before the SSP ends. Payments won’t start though until SSP has ended. You will need your SSP1 form to claim it. Yes you will be placed into the Support Group.

There’s no financial gain though to claiming both at the same time and the ESA will just be deducted in full from your UC. Although it’s still worth claiming it because you will receive class 1 NI credits but with UC it only class 3. It’s also not means tested like UC and may come in useful in the future.

For a pension, yes up to £85/week is ignored for NsESA BUT because you’re also claiming UC the pension will be deducted in full from this. For this reason there will be no financial gain to claiming that pension. Of course it’s entirely up to you what you do.

berry61

Thanks as usual poppy, and we are keeping well thank you fir asking hope you and family are too.

Would the LCWRA work allowance still offset some of our joint income for UC the same way that it does at the moment were my wifes wage and my ssp added up over the assessment period then the lcwra work allowance of £673 is deducted from this total, when my wife's earnings go down to 12 hours p/w very soon and when my ssp ends if I withdrew £85 p/w from private pension we should have less deductions for UC ?

If I ask for form ssp1 now from my employer would they question this as I still have upto 13 weeks left of the 28 week ssp allowance, I haven't said to them that I won't be returning or anything about lcwra. If I did apply for esa now when my ssp ends and esa starts would this be backdated ?

Thanks again poppy

poppy123456

Myself and family are ok, thank you for asking.

Your UC will still include the LCWRA element and you will still be entitled to the work allowance. £673/month of earnings and SSP will be disregarded due to the work allowance. The 55% deductions will still apply on earnings above the work allowance.

If you withdrew a pension of £85/week this will be treated as other income for UC and not earned income so the deduction for UC due to this would be £368.33/month. You won’t be worse off but you won’t be better off either so I see no point in taking that weekly income.

Your SSP will continue up until 28 weeks even if you ask for your SSP1 form because you’re entitled to that from your employer for that time.

The ESA will not be backdated to before the SSP ends because it can’t be paid at the same time as SSP. It will start once SSP ends. The amount deducted per month from UC for ESA in the Support Group will be £598.86/month.

berry61

That's great advice poppy thank you ,

I see your point now about a weekly pension withdrawal so It maybe better to take a lump sum sometime in the future that would be seen as savings, as I've already done a lump sum last month for paying off debt as we discussed in previous thread.

Take care

poppy123456

You’re welcome, as always. Yes, it’s much better to do that than take a weekly income.

Don’t forget also that once your SSP ends providing your wife’s earnings are less than £935 in your last assessment period then you will both be entitled to free NHS treatment.. dental, eye tests and prescriptions. https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/check-if-youre-eligible-help/getting-benefits/hwhc-universal-credit

berry61

Thanks poppy,

I didn't realise that we could get free dental treatment, we get prescriptions and eye test being over 60 …there are some benefits of getting old i suppose 🫣

poppy123456

There is indeed 😂 you won’t be entitled to free dental at the moment because of your SSP if both your earnings are more than £935 during your last assessment period. Once SSP ends you maybe if earnings are less than that amount.

berry61

HI Poppy,

I have just applied for new style ESA on the govuk site, do I need to keep getting fit notes as it says after the application submitted keep sending us fit notes, because I'm getting lcwra will dwp not know this automatically and I no longer need to send fit notes in. It also states if im getting UC I need to inform them on my journal that I've applied for newstyle esa is that correct.

Thanks

poppy123456

Asking for a fit note will be part of the application process as standard. You don't need one. ESA and UC do not communicate very well so yes you will need to put a message onto your journal to tell them that you've applied for ESA. However, as you're still receiving SSP I would wait before putting a message on there because you will not receive any payments for ESA for a while yet.

berry61

Thanks for the reassuring reply poppy.

I've requested the ssp1 form from my employer today so waiting for there response.

When I do get to the stage of putting a message on my journal what option category do I choose.

Thanks again.

poppy123456

Ideally you should have waited until you have the SSP1 form. You can't receive any money from ESA until SSP ends anyway so you have plenty of time. If you've claimed more than 3 months before your SSP ends they may refuse the claim.

Try putting it under either a message for your work coach (although you don't have one now) or a change.

I'm also not 100% sure whether you'll be placed straight into the Support Group or whether you still have to wait 13 weeks for the Support Group amount. If it's assessment rate to start with then it will be £90.50/week. From the 14th week it will increase to £138.20/week. ESA is paid fortnightly.

It doesn't really matter anyway because your total income will not change by claiming ESA.

berry61

That's fine poppy,

Thanks for your advice.

pippyg1

hi berry61 can I ask if you finally got new esa and if you had to have another assessment or not, many thanks

poppy123456

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/970496#Comment_970496

I was the one that advised berry throughout their claim and yes they did receive it. No, another assessment is not needed. When claiming both ESA and UC you only have 1 assessment and the decision applies to both.

berry61

Hi pippyg1,

Poppy is exactly correct I didn't need another assessment, my 13 week esa assessment started on the 4th Oct when my ssp ended and I finally received confirmation I would be placed in the support group from the 27th December.

Hope that helps you