Is there a best time to claim UC (migration) to get more final ESA payment?

hughie1
hughie1 Online Community Member Posts: 91 Contributor
edited March 6 in Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

I have the UC Migration letter. Currently on Income-Related ESA.

It says I will get ESA for 2 more weeks after the day I submit my UC claim.

I am trying to work it out, and to be honest, I am just not sure how it would work. Figured someone here might be able to help.

Am I right in saying that if I make my uc claim on the day I normally receive my ESA payment (or the day after, or the day before?) I can get (gain) an extra 2 weeks ESA payment? And if I applied, say, one week after my previous ESA payment, I would only gain 1 week extra ESA payment?

I also wanted to ask, if I get paid my first UC payment 5 weeks after submitting my claim do I get 5 weeks of UC payment or just one month of UC payment? And if one month, then what about that extra week?

If I submit my claim, say, day of the ESA payment, do I get an extra ESA payment 2 weeks after and then 3 weeks after that I get 5 weeks worth of UC payment. Is this correct?

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  • Kimi87
    Kimi87 Online Community Member Posts: 4,881 Championing

    From other posts I've seen, the best time to claim UC is the day after an ESA payment. This seems to ensure the final payment is for a full two weeks worth.

    UC is paid a month in arrears, based on your circumstances for for the previous calender month, known as the assessment period. The dates of your AP will be the same each month.

    One week after your AP ends, you receive a payment for that Assessment Period.

    Examples:

    AP 26th January- 25th February.

    Payment 2nd March

    AP 26th February- 25th March.

    Payment 2nd April.

    (please note if your UC payment date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, it will be paid instead the previous working day)

    For your final paragraph, your understanding is correct.

  • hughie1
    hughie1 Online Community Member Posts: 91 Contributor

    So the day after next payment then...

    And I will get final esa payment 2 weeks later.

    Then 3 weeks after that I will get 4 weeks uc.

    Sound right?

    So I guess in reality I only gain an extra week money, not two since I'm paid 4 weeks (well, a month) of uc, not 5…

    Thought I'd gain from all this hassle. Very annoying.

    I want to get started on the claim. I can do that and not actually submit it until the day spoken about before. That is correct?

  • Kimi87
    Kimi87 Online Community Member Posts: 4,881 Championing

    Yes your timeline appears correct. Once you start the UC application you have 28 days to actually submit the form. You will be able to save your progress after each section has been completed.

  • veryconfused
    veryconfused Online Community Member Posts: 52 Contributor
  • hughie1
    hughie1 Online Community Member Posts: 91 Contributor

    I got esa payment yesterday and planned to submit claim today, but think I'll have to do it tomorrow now. What difference shall this make?

  • OverlyAnxious
    OverlyAnxious Online Community Member Posts: 4,103 Championing
    https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/990535#Comment_990535

    Virtually none. Your assessment periods and payment date will just be 1 day later than they would otherwise have been. It won't make any difference to the 2 week ESA run on.

  • Kimi87
    Kimi87 Online Community Member Posts: 4,881 Championing
    edited March 2

    From other people I advised, the ESA run on amount does vary it's not always a full two week payment. It wasn't when I migrated. It must depend on when you claim UC in relation to your normal ESA payment cycle. The people I've seen get a full payment claimed the day after an ESA payment.

  • OverlyAnxious
    OverlyAnxious Online Community Member Posts: 4,103 Championing
    https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/990616#Comment_990616

    Thanks Kimmy. I will keep that in mind for future reference. I have been advising to apply the day after an ESA payment for a smooth transition but did not realise it affected the 2 week run on payment.

  • hughie1
    hughie1 Online Community Member Posts: 91 Contributor

    Are you sure it matters when you migrate how much your final esa payment will be?

    It says:

    "If you’ve applied for Universal Credit, you’ll keep getting your current benefit paid for 2 more weeks. You must still be eligible for your current benefit. You will not need to pay back these extra payments and they will not affect the Universal Credit you might get."

    If I say applied one week after (one week before) an esa payment, I'd get paid that full esa payment one week later, and this in arrears, so for 2 weeks before. So only one week of that would be after signing up to uc. Therefore I believe I would get paid another week esa after that. So 2 weeks worth after making the claim.

    Can anyone confirm this please.

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