Hi, my name is dawn123890! Can anyone give any information please. My hubby is currently getting ESA

dawn123890

Can anyone give any information please. My hubby is currently getting ESA (support group) HB , PIP and claims for us as a couple. He is due to receive his state pension and his ESA claim will end. As I am younger what benefits would we get and how do we navigate the correct way to go about it ?

poppy123456

When does he reach state pension age? As a mixed aged couple your only option will be to claim Universal Credit because once he reaches this age your housing benefit will also stop.

The best time to claim UC will be before his ESA stops, it stops the day before he reaches state pension age. If you claim at this time then your UC will include the LCWRA element from the start of your claim, this is same as ESA Support Group.

If his PIP includes the daily living part and no one else claims either carers element of UC or carers allowance for looking after him then you can claim carers element. As a carer you will have no commitments.

His state pension will be deducted in full from any UC entitlement. Help with the rent will be through UC known as housing element, unless you're living in either supported or temporary housing.

dawn123890

Thank you for your reply. He reaches state pension age on the 16th April. Are you saying I need to claim UC on the 15th April or before the date it will stop.? Also no one claims carers allowance so would I need to ask for the carers element when claiming. Would I need to just contact UC or Housing benefit/ council tax too? He gets standard daily living and enhanced mobility PIP .We are in a council bungalow .

Kimmy87

When you claim UC you would report caring for him, Carers Element is entirely separate from CA and getting one is not dependent on getting the other.

You don't need to contact hb it will all be done behind the scenes.

Council Tax you will need to notify as this is separate from UC and each local authority runs this for their area. They each have different schemes so we are unable to advise on individual cases from here.

Some people changing from legacy benefits have seen the amount they need to pay for CT go up.

poppy123456

As long as you make sure you claim UC before he reaches state pension age then it will be fine.

I’m surprised that you’re not already claiming carers allowance. Are you also aware that your NI credits towards your state pension are not included in this ESA claim? It will only be the main claimant that receives the NI credits.

dawn123890

Oh dear I did not know this. Ive been on his claim for 20 plus years. He has been claiming PiP for 10 years and we heard if you claim carers allowance it gets taken off you so we did not bother

poppy123456

Carers allowance is always deducted in full from Income Related ESA. They than include the carers premium in the ESA. Carers allowance would then pay you separately. At the moment carers premium is £45.60/week, so you would have been that much better off per week. Of course it would have been less in previous years.

Can I please just check if you’re claiming a disability benefit yourself such as PIP daily living or DLA mid/high rate care? Or you’re registered blind?

dawn123890

I’m claiming nothing at all for myself my husband claims for me on his ESA. Does this mean by the time I reach state pension age in Aug 2029 I won’t receive any state pension

Kimmy87

You can check your NI record online:

https://www.gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record

poppy123456

Had you claimed carers allowance then you would have received class 1 NI credits through that.

You can claim Carers allowance now, it won’t make up the years you’ve lost but it will be something and you will be £45/week better off. You can backdate it for a maximum of 3 months as well, so please make sure you put that date down when you apply.

When you claim UC as you will be a claimant as well and it would be class 3 NI credits for this.

There’s many people that didn’t realise when named on a partners claim they do not receive NI credits.

dawn123890

After reading what advice you wonderful people have given me I’ve been doing a bit of research.
I feel uneasy about claiming carers allowance at this late stage (just before ESA will end) If I’ve read correctly would we be entitled to claim carers element on UC when we move over to in April even though we haven’t previously claimed Carers Allowance?

poppy123456

Why are you reluctant to claim carers allowance? As I advised you can backdate that claim for 3 months, which means the carers premium will also be backdated to the same amount of time.

Yes, you will be able to claim carers element of UC when you claim that. Carers allowance would be deducted in full from the UC.

You do not need to claim carers allowance to be entitled to carers element.

dawn123890

I’m reluctant because I’m worried if I start messing about changing things it can affect your other benefits. I probably sound ridiculous but I get really anxious about these kind of things. Seriously I’ve not been sleeping worrying over the changes in benefits that are coming due to my hubby becoming state pension age. I have to do the sorting he is profoundly deaf and has no computer skills and will not even try.

poppy123456

It won't affect anything other than be deducted from the ESA, which is what always happens. I claim Income Related ESA and I'm also a carer for my daughter claiming carers allowance. The carers allowance is deducted from my ESA, they add the carers premium and I receive a payment of carers allowance every 4 weeks. I've been claiming both since 2017.

For the UC claim, you must make sure you claim before he reaches state pension age, if you don't then your UC will not include the LCWRA element from the start of your claim. You would then be financially worse off.

Citizens Advice have a help to claim phone number and you can contact them for help when you're ready to claim UC. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/claiming/contact-us-about-universal-credit/

When you do claim, you will be need to start the claim, one of you will then receive a linking code to join both claims together. You will need to attend your first appointment at your local Job centre. If your partner is unable to attend due to their health conditions they can ask for a telephone appointment.