Means tested rules

jarvo40

my wife has become my carer also works £150pw I’m on legacy esa support group esa payments of £83 pw already been told I’ll forfeit £81.90 pw but will recieve a premium of £45pw will I lose anymore cause of my wife’s earning as it’s under what your allowance is?

poppy123456

If you are the main claimant of the ESA then the higher permitted work earnings of £183.50/week do not apply to her. They only apply to the claimant itself. Your wife's allowed earnings are just £20/week. For every £1 of earnings over this amount then your ESA reduced £1 for £1. These rules apply to Income Related ESA. With her earnings of £150/week, it's highly likely there would be no entitlement to Income Related ESA.

In this case it would be better to claim Universal Credit. You will need to claim as a couple because it's means tested. As you're in the Support Group then you'll be entitled to the LCWRA element from the start of your claim.

On UC there's the work allowance, which is much more beneficial for your wife if she's not the main claimant of your ESA. If you claim for help with the rent your work allowance will be £404/week, if you don't it will be £673/week. For every £1 of earnings received over those amounts your UC reduces by 55p.

If she's already working then you should have reported those changes when she started work.

jarvo40

hi no she has not started work yet. Her first payment for the carers allowance will be on 3/3/25 .. I’m reluctant to switch to u/c until I get asked to migrate my wife only got settled status from a non eu country in October 24.. so am I right in understanding she can only earn £20pw otherwise it’s a £for a £ off of my esa claim? So if her earnings go over my esa will they close my claim down? Also if that is the case would it affect housing benifit?

poppy123456

Yes, your ESA payments will end with her earnings of £150/week. Your NI credits will continue but payments will then end.

Housing benefit will need to be recalculated based on your wife's earnings and the same applies to council tax reduction. You must make sure you report the changes to your local Authority.

Why are you reluctant to claim UC before you receive the migration letter? In my opinion, it's a no brainer because you'll be financially worse off by not claiming UC.