UC and LCWRA or LCW profoundly deaf

MrsYoung

Hi everyone, 
I'm new to this site and would like some advice on Universal Credit, which is also new for me.
I am profoundly deaf and on PIP but when I asked about LCW etc, she said I couldn't get it because I had ESA discontinued. I took a break from benefits because I had to downsize and had money left over from the sale for a while.
Another woman, the next week,  said it wasn't worth claiming LCW because the extra money is just deducted from UC'. Two other ladies joined in the discussion and the impression I got is that none of them knew what they were doing tbh. 
I have tried reading all the information out there and it's very unclear. 
I want to know if I can claim LCWRA which I think is the right one for me as it's a permanent disability and what should I say or the right questions to ask because if you don't ask, they don't tell you.
Thanks.

Adrian_Scope

Hi @MrsYoung and welcome to the community.
You weren't ever found fit for work, so there is a technicality here that should help. Is it possible for you to find out if you were still receiving Credits Only ESA? (They usually do this for people who have too much capital to get ESA but are still entitled to it.) 

I'm just going to move this over to the Universal Credit category, in case someone has any additional advice.

MrsYoung

I was never told about getting Credits for ESA! This is very good information and I will ask about it when I see my work coach today. Thank you, Adrian ?

poppy123456

Hi,

You mention a work coach so i'm assuming you're already claiming UC? If so then even if your ESA claim remained opened for NI credits only then you won't be able to go back onto that because you've now claimed UC and your ESA claim will have closed.

Adrian is correct that you weren't found fit for work while you claimed ESA so claiming LCW under UC is possible, with a fit/sick note from your GP.

I'm unsure what the person was talking about when you were told it's not worth claiming LCW because it's deducted from your UC, this is not correct.

As you've claimed UC then your ESA claim would have ended, even if it was NI credits only.

To be able to help you further it will be worth finding out if your ESA claim remained opened for your NI credits only. If it remained open which group were you in at the time?

MrsYoung

Thanks for your reply, poppy, I asked about the ESA credits and she said it was only valid for 6 months (?) but didn't say anything about it being closed automatically after starting a new claim. That helps because I know now that there's no point in persuing it anymore. Didn't tell me if I had had credits though. She's not 'trained' in that area.
She's agreed to my request to change to LCWRA and I have to get a written medical note from my GP even though I had PIP letter and audiogram.

I am not sure what group I was in as I was formerly on Jobseeker's Allowance and the ESA was added on to it.
I haven't queried that point about deducting LCW from UC yet but I will if I am successful in my application to the new group.

MrsYoung

Thank you for responding, Hart.
It's very complicated and reading stuff about ESA and credits seem to imply that it's only for a year, then not so. I will ask about it. I am wondering if that is why I do not have full national insurance contributions for that year from Nov 17 to Nov 18 when I was getting ESA, possibly longer but I'm not clear on that point. Being halfway through the tax year probably made it the reason why there are no full years recently.
To my great relief, my GP has signed me as not fit for work indefinitely, so will take that note in to my work coach ?

poppy123456

NI credits are not just paid for 1 year, they are paid for as long as your ESA award is in place.

MrsYoung

Well, that seems to be another thing I got to chase up on. I did check my pension status on national insurance contributions and have 35 full years anyway, plus 5 years of non full, which is when I realised somebody in the jobcentre hadn't been paying that for me!
 I've been looking into whether I can retire early but not until I'm 62 apparently (I'm caught up in that forever extending retirement date).

poppy123456

Unfortunately, there's no such thing as an indefinite fit note. A fit note doesn't automatically entitle you to limited capability for work.

Do be aware that any occupational/personal pension you receive in the future will be counted as income £1 for £1 when calculating any UC amount. https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/Non-work-income-overview-Universal-Credit