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ESA and everything else

Loumc48

all I’m going to say is thank goodness for those that run this site . Your support and knowledge is forever appreciated by all your members . You’ve helped me (in particular Poppy) get this far following my husbands near fatal RTA in terms of the disability benefits, however I’m now on another stage of the journey and completely lost once again.

So have some more questions if that’s ok?

So far, we are on a joint UC award, he is on PIP enhanced for both elements, I get carers element but applied for CA and still waiting to hear the outcome although from what I have read it’s pointless getting as is means tested , and my husband has been accepted as LCWRA however waiting for a decision maker whether the first payment should be backdated to the beginning of this month but it will certainly start from next month.

I applied for him to be on ESA as saw that this needed to be done within three months of his SSP which runs out mid December and had confirmation from the DWP that his fit note had been accepted that we will hear within ten days whether the application has been successful- ten days later and have had nothing . Do i need to contact them? Do I need to worry, how does the ESA process work - I have no idea ? We’ve been told my his ICU consultant at the follow up clinic that he still has atleast another nine - twelve months recovery time .

I also applied for PIP as diagnosed with PTSD as a result of his accident but know the drill with that in terms of timelines . Can I claim PIP (assuming I get it), CA and him claiming LCWRA - Will it make us worse off ?

As his carer and knowing how long we both have yet to go until we can be back in full time employment , is there anything I’ve missed ? It’s so scary.

The final question I have is although I really want to go back to work , I can’t leave and wouldn’t leave my husband whilst he is going through the long road to recovery but will it get to a stage where I will be told to go back to work - is there a time limit that they will force me to go back to work because the reality is , with my earnings and with all the benefits taken off, we would be much worse off ?

thanks so much and hope it all makes sense and panicking now

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poppy123456

Thank you, that's very kind of you to say that! Claiming CA will not make you financially better off because it's just deducted in full from any UC entitlement. There are some advantages to claiming it such as you will receive class 1 NI credits but for UC it's just class 3. You can also be paid weekly but UC is monthly so it can help to budget a little easier.

Do be aware that if you do return to work, there's an earnings limit when claiming CA and at the moment it's £151/week. Entitlement will end if your earnings are more than that and you must report the changes if you return to work.

Likewise, for the ESA it is just deducted in full full from any UC entitlement so no financial gain to claiming it but it has some advantages, such as class 1 NI credits, fortnightly payments and it's not means tested, like UC is.

To be clear he didn't need to claim NsESA within 3 months of SSP ending. What you most likely read was that he could apply 3 months before ESA ended but payments wouldn't start until SSP ended because it can't be paid at the same time.

NsESA entitlement will be based on his NI contributions in tax years 2021/22 and 2022/23. It may take a few weeks to hear back from them. They may ask for a fit note but because he's already been through the work capability assessment he will not need a fit note.

Yes, you can claim PIP for yourself and it will not affect any of your other benefits because it's not means tested. Yes, people claim carers element/carers allowance for looking after someone and PIP their self.

Your question about the time limit to return to work, are you talking about your employer or UC? If UC then as a carer you have no commitments so do not need to return to work. If it's your employer then you really need to speak to them.

I can't tell you if you would be worse off by returning to work, that will depend on your joint circumstances. If you do return you will need to report the changes to UC and tell them you've started working. You have the work allowance, which means some of your earnings each month are ignored before deductions apply. If you claim for help with the rent it will be £404/month, if you don't it will be £673/month. For every £1 of earnings received over those amounts your UC will reduce by 55p/month.

His ESA will not be affected by you returning to work because it's not means tested.

I'd advise you to use a benefits calculator if you do decide to return. PIP will not be affected either.

Lastly, if you can tell me what date exactly his first fit note was provided and the dates of your UC assessment periods, or what date you usually receive your money each month, I can tell you when to expect the first payment for the LCWRA element.

I hope this helps.

Loumc48

Hi Poppy, thank you for getting back so quickly .

I thought that after the 28 weeks of my husband being on SSP through his company , that ESA was basically a government funded substitute for sick pay and had calculated that in to our budget after his SSP has ended - is that not the case then ?

with regards to my worry about returning to work, that is purely on whether UC will give me a time limit on having to return to work as was wondering if there was a time limit for me to be his carer . I gave up my job to do this as am with my husband 24/7.

re LCWRA, his first fit note was on the 31st May and I queried on here that when he was awarded and have the assessment periods which were 30th to 31st of each month, you kindly suggested that he should have been awarded from this month but UC had stated from next month. I got in touch with UC as they had said that the decision date was to be from the 18th July which was when his second fit note went in. I was then told it had gone to a decision make to decide whether they would back date to this month - still waiting to hear .

I really don’t understand the NI credits either!

With regards to the rent, we are private tenants so we don’t get the full amount of housing so I’m guessing that I will only be able to earn the lower amount ?

I guess I probably just need to ask what we will get each month and given what you are saying, is it :

UC, LCWRA and PIP as ESA and CA are not worth calculating into the monthly income ?

Thanks so much again . You are just phenomenal in what you do !

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/920357#Comment_920357

poppy123456

Aww thank you! you're very welcome!

Unfortunately, that's not correct because it's just deducted in full from any UC entitlement.

As a carer there's no obligation to return to work by UC because you have no commitments. There's also no time limit to being a carer, providing he continues to claim daily living PIP.

Ah yes, regarding the LCWRA element, now I remember.

For earnings if you did return to work, there's no limit on how much you can earn but as you claim for help with the rent your work allowance will be £404/month. This doesn't mean you can only earn that much each month. It means that's how much earnings are disregarded before deductions apply. For example, if you returned to work and your earrings were £700/month then £404 is disregarded, so £296 will used to calculate the deductions.. £296 x 0.55 = £162.80 deduction for your UC.

Yes your total income will be UC (LCWRA is part of UC) and your maximum entitlement will increase by £416.19/month and your husband's PIP. The ESA and CA are not really counted because your overall income will be the same as it would be if you didn't claim them.

The only other benefit possible would be Council Tax reduction and this needs to be claimed from your Local Authority.

Loumc48

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/920393#Comment_920393

crikey. That’s one heck of an insight. Thank you so much as always Poppy.

Loumc48

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/920393#Comment_920393

Hi Poppy

I have two months of CA going into my account tomorrow according to my bank app which I am surprised about because I have had no confirmation of having been accepted .

Am I right to assume that the full amount will be deducted from my Novembers UC award even though it is a backdated payment ?

THANK You !

poppy123456

It's not unusual to receive payment before the letter. Only 1 months carers allowance should be deducted from your next payment and the deduction is £354.90/month.

This is because UC is a monthly benefit and CA is a weekly benefit and there's 4.3 weeks in a month, not 4 weeks. To work out the monthly deduction you times the weekly amount by 52 and then divide by 12. Same rules apply for New Style ESA.

The other months carers allowance will now be an overpayment for UC and they will reduce your monthly UC payments to repay it back.

Loumc48

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/920849#Comment_920849

oh joy. Loving the dream 😢. Thank you poppy

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