Switching to UC from Income related ESA

Comicmadtitan

Hey all, i've not been asked yet to move to UC however I am wondering if it is better to move over myself now rather than panic when the time comes. I am worried about whether I will reassessed or not? Or will that carry over from ESA to UC or not? For background information, I am in the support group and I also receive both enhanced elements of PIP. Thanks!

OverlyAnxious

Hi,

The ESA support group migration starts in September, so you will most likely get the migration letter soon anyway.

If you currently get SDP, you should wait for the letter, otherwise you will lose transitional protection and be worse off on UC.

If you don't get SDP, it doesn't matter when you switch, but you will be better off on UC.

The letter gives you 3 months to claim, but your legacy benefits end 2 weeks after you start the claim anyway, so the speed of changeover is the same regardless.

You should be entitled to LCWRA from the start of your UC claim. No reassessment needed. But you will need to do an ID verification, either at a Job Centre, or at home/over the phone if any of those work for you.

PIP is not part of UC and won't be affected by the migration.

Comicmadtitan

Thanks! I don't get SDP unfortunately, so would you say it is better for me to just wait then rather than jumping at it now?

OverlyAnxious

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/901663#Comment_901663

I can't really make that decision for you.

You would get a bit more money on UC compared to ESA support group without SDP. So if you could use the extra money, then feel free to start the process as soon as possible. If you don't need the extra, then you might as well wait for the letter to come though.

I am hoping they'll make the process a bit easier for ESA migrations over the next month or so, though that is just my hope at this point, there hasn't been anything to suggest they actually will so far.

Rachel_Scope

Hi @Comicmadtitan. As OverlyAnxious has said, we can't make that decision for you, it's what you feel is best for you. Here's some information on transitioning that may be helpful https://www.scope.org.uk/advice-and-support/transitional-protection-and-universal-credit#:~:text=You%20may%20be%20eligible%20to,a%20'migration%20notice'%20letter.&text=Your%20new%20income%20would%20not,new%20claim%20for%20Universal%20Credit. There is also a dedicated UC Migration discussion where you could maybe get some more answers

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/121150/uc-managed-migration-guide

Hope that helps