Joint claimants carers element for each other

londonlife
londonlife Online Community Member Posts: 5 Listener
in Universal Credit (UC)

Hello.

A) Is it correct that a couple, both getting pip, can claim UC carers element for each other? Neither have lcwra (yet). UC rules seems to say they can.

Currently husband claims it for caring for the wife ( and CA) , but he has just been found eligible for pip & started getting pip. So can she claim CE for him? As they care for each other, as many couples do.

He is on the UC health journey now & is waiting for a uc50. Will getting carers element make it harder to get lcwra?

B) Carers allowance you can get 3 months backpay; if you are on UC already, is this back pay counted as income like the monthly CA is?

Would it matter if the backpay covered a period before they got uc?


Comments

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 63,736 Championing

    Yes you can both claim carers element for looking after each other.

    Once a decision is made on the work capability assessment if you're found to have LCWRA then the carers element for yourself will stop and this will be replaced by the LCWRA element. This is because the same person can't receive both elements at the same time. Only the higher element is paid, which is LCWRA.

    However, if your UC includes Transitional Protection then this will erode by the additional carers element and LCWRA element. Whether you'll be better off by those elements will depend on how much your TP is.

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