Hi, my name is diane68! Universal migration, will I be down money?

diane68

Hi I’m just after some help regarding universal migration I’ve had the letter come through to say about migrating over but the 16th of September in regards to transitional protection I am currently on income support with sdp which is 348 every 2 weeks and I get carers weekly , will I still get the same amount as what I get on legacy benefits when I transfer over as I’m panicking I will be down. I also get housing benefit but I pay bedroom tax for one room that isn’t occupied due to my son moving out.

I’ve very poorly at the moment and all this is making me panic. Thanks in advance to anyone who reply’s back.

poppy123456

You will not be worse off when you migrate across. As you're claiming carers allowance you need to make sure you report being a carer when you claim UC. Your UC will then include the carers element. Carers allowance will be deducted in full from your UC in the same way it's deducted in full from your Income Support.

Your IS and housing benefit will continue for 2 weeks once you submit a claim for UC. After that they will stop. Help with the rent will be included with UC known as housing element.

For your spare bedroom, if you need regular overnight care then you can ask for an extra bedroom for a carer when you claim UC. If awarded there will be no bedroom tax and your full rent will be covered.

diane68

hi Poppy thanks so much for the reply and going over things , will transitional protection cover the downfall as I say I get 348 every 2 weeks which include the .. plus my weekly carers , I see single claimants is 393.45 and then carers element is £198 deducting carers which gives £235 from those two should I get tp of £461 as that’s what I would be down, as on legacy I get £1020 for the income support with sdp and carers combined.

poppy123456

You will be entitled to Transitional Protection so you will not be worse off. I'm afraid I can't tell you what those exact figures will be.

Please also be aware that the TP will erode over time so if other elements increase or you become entitled to other elements the TP decreases until such a time it will erode completely.

diane68

Oh i see I wasn’t sure how it all worked … Will housing make my transitional lower do you know or will it not be effected, I get that paid directly at the moment to my housing association, all in all my legacy benefits work out to about £1600 a month.

Thanks again Poppy really appreciate the help.

poppy123456

You're welcome. Your housing element will not be lower. Please take note of the advice I gave about the extra bedroom for a carer. This can also be claimed now for housing benefit from your local Authority.

Albus_Scope

Hey there @diane68 and welcome to the community.

I can see Poppy has already helped you out with your query, but I just wanted to pop in and say a quick hello. 😊

diane68

Thank you Albus and thanks again Poppy didn’t realise you had replied to me before.

I am still quite worried about the change over , I tried to do a calculation but I think I was doing it wrong

poppy123456

It's quite difficult to do a calculation for manage migration because I'm not 100% sure if the benefit calculators will take into consideration any entitlement to Transitional Protection. (TP) I do know that you won't be worse off when you do migrate across.

Jimm_Scope

Indeed, Transitional Protection is there to prevent you from being worse off. However, to receive Transitional Protection you do need to apply for Universal Credit before the deadline! So please do so if you haven't already

diane68

thanks for reassuring me poppy and thanks Albus. I have to apply by the 14th of September, I get a payment on the 9th income support with my sdp , and also the 9th is when I get my housing benefit will it be ok to apply the 10th are you allowed to apply just a few days before?

poppy123456

Yes you can apply on 10th September.