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Partner been awarded LCWRA - what happens now

Bertie1981

Hello all,

Partner had his WCA for UC on 26/10 - just had confirmation today that he's been awarded LCWRA.

We migrated over to UC in July. Payments were around 1790 per month. That includes transitional protection. We were previously in receipt of income support and child tax credits.

However, son started an apprenticeship beginning of October so payments went down to 1502 (still including TP)

Can someone work out how much we should get now please? Online benefits calculators don't account for transitional protection.

So myself and partner claim UC as a couple.

We have 1 child (15yo) who we get CB for.

Rent is 100 a week.

I get carers allowance.

Partner gets PIP - standard rate daily living, standard rate mobility.

Partner just been awarded LCWRA

Also, we're in our 4th month of UC. well 30th November will be our 4th payment. Partner had been sending in sick notes for a while.

When are we likely to get first payment of LCWRA added on please? As my statement isn't available til the 26th. We aren't owed any back pay I believe as its only taken them just over 3 weeks to make a decision on his WCA.

TIA

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Comments

OverlyAnxious

Hi,

Can you find the exact date that your partner provided the first fit note please? That is needed to calculate the first LCWRA payment date.

Also, are you getting the Carers Element of UC? (That is separate to Carers Allowance)

tinks54321

I am sorry I can’t help with any calculations but just on reading can I ask if your partner has recently had a PIP evaluation. To be awarded LCWRA usually means someone is unable to do any form of work due to whatever disability they have and as your partner’s disability has been deemed to be severe enough for LCWRA then maybe his PIP award needs to be adjusted to enhanced levels for either daily living, mobility or both depending on his disability.

I would definitely go and speak to citizens advice and see what they say.

Bertie1981

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/943153#Comment_943153

Hiya, yes I forgot to say I get carers element. Silly me. Also he sent his first sick note in July . That covered him for a month to August.. Then he had another sick note for 2 months which covered him til 25th October. GP gave him another for a month which expires on 25th November. That's off the top of my head without going back into his journal or getting his sick notes out.

OverlyAnxious

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/943165#Comment_943165

Ok, I think your assessment periods are 24th to 23rd of each month based on the 30th as the payment date. I am assuming the first fit note was provided on the 25th or 26th of July which means that assessment period gets ignored altogether.

Then you have 3 waiting periods:

24 Aug - 23 Sept
24 Sept - 23 Oct
24 Oct - 23 Nov

Then LCWRA gets added from the 4th period:

24 Nov - 23 Dec

Meaning the first LCWRA payment would be paid on Dec 30th.

(That is based on the dates provided. A few days different could mean the LCWRA payment gets added this month instead. Those dates really are crucial for this. There won't be any backpay owed either way.)

The total calculation is a bit more difficult when considering TP as well. This is the best I can do with the info provided but please do let me know if I've got anything wrong. (Edited after posting - I think some of this may be incorrect. If you can post a photo of your UC statement, I'll calculate it properly tomorrow.)

Standard Rate for couples over 25: £617.60
Carers Element: £198.31
Housing Costs: £433.33 (Calculated monthly from £100 p/w)

=£1249.24

Carers Allowance Deduction: £354.90

= £894.31

TP must be £607.****. (£1502 total payment)

Addition of LCWRA: £416.19

£686.09 TP - £416.19 LCWRA = £191.50 TP left

So the overall payments would still be exactly the same at £1502.

The Carers Allowance deduction remains the same. Carers Allowance payment, PIP payment and Child Benefit payments all remain as separate payments.

Bertie1981

Yes he has. He's been awarded it for another 4 years. He got the review decision in September. We added all his new conditions to the reviews form,told them his RA and spondylosis are affecting him a lot more and he's been diagnosed with glaucoma, recurring eye ulcers, reynauds and his rotator cuffs are shot, Still only got standard for both. Got advice on whether to appeal it and got told no. "Because appeals take forever and even though his RA has got significantly worse and he's got new conditions to add to the long list of ailments, they are only interested in the physical side of things and because he's on DMARDS and isn't in a wheelchair (yet), his condition will be seen as controlled and we would be fighting a losing battle". Should have ignored and appealed anyway. His consultant said his RA levels are highest they've seen in a man his age and they're that of a 80 yo. Even with DMARDS. His RA is also linked to his glaucoma 🤦🏽‍♀️

Bertie1981

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/943184#Comment_943184

So his fit notes - the first one was issued 25th July - 25th August.

Due to weekends and not being able to get through to GP 🤬, the dates on his last one means it runs out 29th November.

Also we have a child on our UC claim which I think you missed off in the calculations?

tinks54321

Bertie 1981. I would consider an appeal. My own person thoughts are that they downgrade most people and only then look closely at those who appeal. That’s is just my personal thoughts. Someone I knew had a stroke, has no balance, can’t walk far, gets dizzy and confused, cannot now drive, has stage 4 chronic kidney disease (on dialysis 3 times a week and waiting for a doner). He is classed as end of life if a doner is not found by the time dialysis no longer works. He has had a heart attack and has now has had stents put in but. And this is where I think it all goes wrong. He looks ok to the eye. He has no disfigurement. He dresses smartly. He can hold a conversation although does get confused sometimes but talking to a stranger they probably wouldn’t notice. And he is proud and still wants to try and pushes his body as far as he can. Initially he was turned down. First appeal awarded standard rate. Second appeal awarded higher rate for both. At the end of the day it’s not medical people making decisions. He had his GP, Nephrologist, Cardiologist all write letters about his condition and how it affects his life, including anxiety and depression. Good luck to whatever you decide to do.

Bertie1981

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/943203#Comment_943203

Thank you, I'm going to speak to my partner because I don't think it's right.

He's had RA for 16 years, he's never going to get rid of it, it's getting worse,hes other ailments that can be quite debilitating added on top of that too..

Bertie1981

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/943184#Comment_943184

Our TP is £353.26 per month.

So we've got about £60 of that left when LWCRA is awarded?

Thanks so much for working it all out for me. I got told TP stays the same for a year and only then does it start to erode. You got all the amounts spot on by the way 😊, just need to add my child onto that now which is £333 I believe?

Bertie1981

I've worked it out to 1706.76. That's before deductions for an advance we had. So it'll be around 1655 I think

OverlyAnxious

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/943212#Comment_943212

Ah, I read it as your child was no longer on the claim since starting an apprenticeship. So yes that's another £333.33 to add.

You're right, the TP will completely erode so you'll just get an extra £62.93 when the LCWRA is added.

If your current award is £1706.76 (without the advance repayment), then it should go up to £1769.**** when the LCWRA gets added.

In addition to that, because you no longer have any TP left, your total will increase again in April when the benefits rates get uprated for next year.

Bertie1981

Thank you so much for your help. I think I'm starting to understand it all now. Finally 😂

Current award is 1502 (that's with a couple, TP,1 child, housing costs, carers element and after advance repayments have been taken) then they'll add on the 416 for LCWRA but remove my 353 TP. So yeah it works out about 1650 ish per month.

Better than a kick in the teeth and not much of an increase but it is what it is.

Also been told by a couple of disability charities I deal with that TP doesn't erode regardless of other elements being added to the claim until you've been claiming UC for a year. Sounds like they got it wrong though…

OverlyAnxious

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/943510#Comment_943510

You're welcome. 🙂

The 12 month disregard for Transitional Protection only applies to people who are self employed. There is also a 12 month disregard for savings for people migrating from Tax Credits with more than £16k. So perhaps one of those has been misunderstood by the charity advisors. Child Elements also don't affect the TP. (Edited for accuracy - I meant Childcare Costs, not Child Elements).

Bertie1981

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/943520#Comment_943520

Ahh right. Thanks for that.

If you go on gov site though it says child elements do affect TP, mainly if you add a child on. It gives an example which is something like this.

Sarah claims UC and has 1 child. Her total amount per month is 800 inclusion TP of 200.She adds another child to her claim which increases her award by £50. The £50 is subtracted from transitional protection amount so the TP is reduced to 150. She will still get 800 a month.

OverlyAnxious

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/943540#Comment_943540

Yes, you're right, my mistake. It's the childcare costs for working people that don't affect TP. Not child elements.