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Please help claim might end UC

tootiredforthis

I have had this message from UC saying we are no longer entitled to it but I’m sure it’s wrong. My partner is self employed and I am on contributions based ESA & PIP.

As far as I know AET doesn’t apply because he is self employed, have I got this wrong?

We migrated from TC

“You no longer meet the criteria for transitional protection as within your 1st assessment period the earnings received were above our AET. This means any future assessment period where earnings are below the AET for 3 consecutive assessment periods will mean you no longer meet eligibility for transitional protection which is why u have been asked to report a change to ‘savings & investments’ to see if u are eligible going forwards” We have savings over 16K which means the claim would end.

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Comments

poppy123456

Unfortunately, it is correct that your TP has ended because in your first assessment period your earnings were above the AET. If earnings then fall below this for 3 assessment periods then your TP will end. As that has ended and you have over 16k in capital, your UC will also end.

If your earnings were below the AET in your first assessment period then there wouldn't have been this issue.

Your ESA and PIP will both continue as normal.

tootiredforthis

@poppy123456 thanks for the reply. Do any of these make a difference to this?
I am on Full PIP so my partner claims carer element, this means he doesn’t have to be gainfully self employed.
I also don’t understand how AET is applicable when he is self employed, I googled it and the first thing that came up sai it doesn’t apply to self employed people. For self employed it is usually the minimum income floor which doesn’t apply to him because I get PIP and he gets carer element.

Self employed people have no control over when they are paid and when expenses have to go out. He had to pay for van insurance once month (£570) Van repairs and MOT the next pulse breakdown cover (over 700). This is why the earning were low.

I honestly thought becuase of carer element and transitional protection it didn’t really matter how much he earns especially becuase I read that he doesn’t have to show he is gainfully self employed. It seems so complicated !

If it ends it ends I just want to make sure it’s right and wonder why no one tells you this when you make the claim.

thanks for your help.

poppy123456

It has nothing to do with you having LCWRA or your partner being a carer. It's the AET rules that set the threshold for the TP and this applies to everyone that earns more than this amount in their first AP. For this reason I'm afraid UC are correct and your TP has now ended, which also ends your UC due to your capital.

The reason UC don't tell you is because they are not benefits advisors.

Once your capital goes below £16,000 you can reclaim UC and because you're claiming ESA it would include the LCWRA element from the start of your claim.

I'm sorry I can't give you better news.

tootiredforthis

thanks for the reply. It still seems very unfair given that it’s not possible for him to earn that much (same as 1st month) every month.
The 1st month also included payment for work he did the month before so it was more than one months wages if that makes sense. Impossible to do this every month, he cannot control when he is paid

It looks like it will close but if I can get the energy together I will write to my MP.

poppy123456

UC and self employed have never really been a great set up. UC entitlement is based on earnings received each month, so even though he did the work before he claimed UC, it's when he received the pay for that work that counts.

Yes, your UC will now end due to the excess capital.

tootiredforthis

When I spoke to someone from UC on the phone a few months ago they said if we ever need to claim again they will want to know where the savings have gone and to keep receipts which I will.

At the moment we are in a two bed house (me, partner and daughter soon to be 18). I need my own room due to pain and not sleeping properly, my partner has been on the sofa for years. We are thinking of possible moving to a 3 bed house or putting a bedroom in the loft (20K) of our savings came as a gift from my dad to help with a house move but we haven’t moved yet)

Will either of these be seen as deprivation of capital? A third bedroom is essential I think but they might see it differently.

We bought a new card but the old one was 20 years old and not worth repairing at MOT it was only worth £500 so I think that won’t be send as deprivation.

I’m also on contributions based ESA so I assume if we do reclaim in the future that won’t change because it’s separate. If we reclaim would the ESA just carry over again like this time or would I need to be reassessed?

thanks.

tootiredforthis

@poppy123456 any idea on this? Thanks

Morgan_Alumni

Hello @tootiredforthis

For deprivation of capital, the decision maker would look at whether they believe you have deprived yourself of the capital in order to become entitled or increase your entitlement to UC. You can read more about this process on the ADM, under Deprivation of capital H1795 - H1873.

With regards to your ESA, if you were to become eligible for UC again in the future, your ESA group should transfer over as it did this time.