Esa to uc

bexyboo33

I am currently claiming esa with the sdp. I receive 196 a week. 

I am currently in the process of moving so I will have to claim esa. 

Am I right in thinking I will get the same money i get now with esa with uc? 

Also will they help me financially with white goods? 

Thanks 

calcotti

Moving we only mean you need to claim UC if you need help with rent and are moving to a different local authority which will end an existing Housing Benefit claim.

If that is the case and you claim UC that will end your income based ESA claim. If any of the ESA is contribution based that will continue but be deducted from the UC.

Ignoring the housing element the answer to your question, according to my calculation, is that you will get roughly the same amount of money on UC as ESA.

Your UC will include a standard allowance (£409.89) and the LCWRA element (£341.92). If you still meet the conditions for SDP you will also get an SDP transitional element (£105). This totals £856.81/month which is equivalent to £197.72/week.

The difference is that whereas your SDP was a fixed amount the SDP transitional element is not fixed and as other elements of UC increase annually, or if say your housing element goes up, the SDP will decrease. This will effectively freeze you maximum UC entitlement for quite some time,

bexyboo33

Thanks very much 
What do you mean by housing element.
and also will I receive the full entitlement above as soon as the claim is live on the system? Or do I need to wait 3 months to move up in stages? 

Also sorry once again. If say my uc isn’t due for 3 weeks am I able to apply for a budgeting advance to help with a Cooker for example thanks Again 

calcotti

The housing element is the bit that helps with your rent (replacing Housing Benefit).

Provided you are still on ESA at the time you claim because you are in the ESA Support Group you should get the LCWRA element included from the start without the three month wait.

To be clear, are you moving to a new local authority area?

bexyboo33

Hi yes I am x

calcotti

In that case you are correct that you will need to claim Universal Credit to get help with rent. Income based ESA will end two weeks after you apply for UC.