Hi, my name is moosenbean! No LCWRA money paid yet. Will my wife working affect the total I get?

moosenbean

Hello. I have recently been awarded LCWRA. I have received my monthly UC statement and my payment is zero. The DWP have included LCWRA as income for myself and adjusted the claim accordingly.

Am I being thick here ? I haven’t even received a LCWRA payment into my bank account yet so how can they use it as income?

Or is it because my wife is working and that whilst they have awarded me LCWRA they are not going to pay me.

Hope this makes sense.

poppy123456

LCWRA element isn't treated as income. It's an element which is part of UC and makes up your maximum UC entitlement. Your wife's earnings will be treated as income. Whether there's any entitlement to UC will depend on your joint circumstances. If earnings reduce your UC to zero then this will include the LCWRA element.

More information is needed to be able to advise you correctly.

What date exactly did you provide your first fit note? and what date do you usually receive your UC each month?

So I can advise you correctly can you please tell me all the details of what's on your most recent UC statement. If you post a screenshot or a photo then please make sure you remove any personal information like names, NI numbers etc etc.

If you do not want to disclose that information then I'd advise you to get some expert advice from an advice agency near you.

Albus_Scope

Hey there @moosenbean and welcome to the community.

Congratulations on the LCWRA award. I've edited my comment as I've just seen Poppy has replied to you and I dont want to confuse things. 😊

moosenbean

Hello. My first fit note was dated 1/4/24. I received a form UC50 in May. This was completed and sent back. I had confirmation on my LCWRA award last week.

My monthly UC pay date is 16th.

My latest statement is as follows.

Standard Allowance £617-60

Property rental £725 pm. Local Housing allowance is £450.

-£275

LCWRA £416.19

Total Entitlement £1483.79

Take home pay -£698.16

Wife’s income £1673.39

ESA. -£598.87

Total deductions. -£1711.00

moosenbean

There also should be -£413.97 for other income on there.

poppy123456

Thank you. Before I advise please can you tell me what the £413.97 is for? Is it a pension?

Sorry for all the questions but I need to make sure I have all the information so the advice I gave is correct.

moosenbean

Yes it is a monthly pension (my wife’s) They also use the gross rather than the net payment.

poppy123456

Thank you! They haven't used the LCWRA element as income. My calculations say that there's no entitlement to UC at all due to your wife's earnings, the deduction for ESA and the deduction for your wife's pension.

Pension income is deducted in full, there's no comparable deduction for income tax or NI. Please see link and scroll to H5004.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66867c21899a6f92e5d9ccf5/admh5.pdf

I'll explain in detail with all your elements you're entitled to and the deductions.

UC entitlement. ..

Standard Allowance (couples) £617.60

Local Housing allowance is £450. Your rent liability is higher than what your LHA rate is so there's a shortfall of rent of £275.

LCWRA element £416.19

Total Entitlement before deductions = £1483.79

Deductions.. wife's earnings £1,673.39 - £404 because of the work allowance.. total deductions for earnings = £698.16 ( £1,269.39 x 0.55 = £698.16)

ESA £598.87

Pension £413.97 Total deductions = £1,711. As your maximum UC entitlement is £1,483.79/month this means there's no entitlement to any UC.

Your New style ESA will continue as normal (£138.20/week) because it's not affected by your wife's earnings or pension.

I hope this helps to understand it a little more.

moosenbean

Yes thank you. So in essence the LCWRA comes under the UC umbrella and not paid as a stand alone benefit?

poppy123456

You're welcome. Yes, that's correct, it's an element included with UC, which is all means tested.