Hi I'm Arjuna! I'm on ESA. I've just moved and am being forced to claim UC. How will this affect me?

Arjuna

Hi , Im 54 and in receipt of Employment and support allowance , due to a head injury , I've recently moved to an area where I'm being forced in claiming universal credit , can anybody tell me how this going to affect me , because I'm getting no joy from the dwp website , and I'm worried I'd be forced to attend interviews and my E.S.A will be scrapped.

poppy123456

HI and welcome,

If you're moving to a different local council and you need to claim for help with your rent then yes you will need to claim UC. However, if you're currently receiving a severe disability premium in with another benefit such as ESA or housing benefit then you will not be able to claim UC and you will be able to make a new claim for housing benefit.

If you have to claim UC and part of your current ESA is contributions based then this part will continue to be paid as normal but it will be deducted in full from any UC entitlement.

For the UC providing you don't have savings/capital of more than £16,000 you will be able to claim it and you will recieve the standard allowance along with any other elements that you maybe entitled to.

Your ESA award which ever group you are currently in will be honoured in UC and you will be placed into the relevant group. So if you're in the Support Group you will be placed into the :LCWRA group. If you're in the WRAG you'll be placed into the LCW group. Although like ESA you can be re-assessed anytime from 3 months.

If you're renting from a private landlord then you will need to send a copy of your tenancy agreement to be able to claim for help with the rent in with your UC payment.

UC is paid monthly and your first payment is 5 weeks after you claim, so if you do need to claim it then i'd advise you to do that ASAP because it can't be backdated.

Use a benefits calculator to check how much you maybe entitled to. It's impossible to tell you this without knowing all of your current circumstances. https://www.entitledto.co.uk/benefits-calculator/Intro/Home?cid=851de0e3-c000-4a38-ae69-cc7b307e9342

Tori_Scope

Hello and welcome to the community @Arjuna Just to let you know, I've moved your post into our universal credit category, and renamed it so that our other members can find it more easily. 

I hope Poppy's advice has helped. Please let us know if you have any further questions! 

Arjuna

Hi , Poppy and Tori , thanks for such a prompt reply , I will have to take a little time to digest Poppy's reply, but in the meantime thanks to you both , its is much appreciated .

poppy123456

If you have any further questions please just ask and i'm sure someone will help you further. It is rather a lot to take in.

chiarieds

Hi @Arjuna - welcome to the community, & how are you getting on?

Have you had a little look at Poppy's advice?

Do you get the Severe Disability Premium? Have a look at your benefit letters.

Do you know if you receive New Style ESA, or if your ESA is contribution/income based?

Arjuna

Hi Chiarieds , I'm gradually ploughing my way through , Poppys advice has been a useful frame of reference and provides good support , Talking to people on the other end of a phone, its good to know I have a guide to cover ground that I want to be covered , your question is one I was only discussing last night, because I don't have a clue as to what my E.S.A is broken down into , I was under the Impression I was receiving PIP , but apparently I'm not , so that's going to be something I'm going to get clarification on, Thanks for the support!

poppy123456

@Arjuna You can check your bank to see if there's any PIP payments going in, part of the payment reference number will be PIP.

Talking of SDP to receive this you must be living alone or classed as living alone, if you live with other adults over the age of 18 that you don't claim child benefit for they must also be claiming a qualifying benefit such as PIP daily living, DLA mid/high rate care or Attendance Allowance. Or they must be registered blind. No one must be claiming carers allowance or the carers element of Universal Credit for looking after you.

If you don't have a PIP or DLA award as mentioned above then you definitely won't be claiming any SDP. If this is the case and you've moved to a different local council then you'll have no option but to claim Universal Credit.

If you do have to claim UC then i'd advise you to do this ASAP because it can't be backdated and the longer you leave it, the more money you will lose out on.

Arjuna

Thanks poppy, your obviously a skilled legal eagle , this will be invaluable knowledge .

poppy123456

You're welcome. I'm definitely no expert but have plenty of knowledge regarding all benefits.