Can I ask ESA to switch me to UC, or am I best off waiting for them to switch me over?

laney1970

I need some help if I ring ESA department up can they switch me over to uc without losing my money I'm in the support group or am I best waiting until they switch Me over 

woodbine

You could do a benefits check with "turn2us" or "entitled2", but remember whilst UC is paying an additional £20 per week thats only till September, personally my advice would be wait until you are moved to UC which wont be any time soon and then you will get the transitional protection.

laney1970

Ok I will wait until they switch Me over thankyou for your help

calcotti

If you did want to switch from ESA to UC you would not contact ESA. You would simply apply for UC. The act of applying for UC automatically triggers the end of ESA, Housing Benefit, Tax Credits etc. For ESA, HB and other DWP Benefits there is a two week run on before they stop.

Even without the £20/week add on many claimants were better off on UC than ESA but it depends on circumstances so definitely not something to decide without doing a benefits check. if doing a comparison I would deduct £86.67 from the UC amount to reflect what it will be when the £20 top up is removed (unless government extend it again).

Transitional protection is irrelevant for people who would be better off on UC anyway,

wilko

@laney1970, hello, I was on ESA support group for 4 years but as I was coming up to official retirement age my wife was told to apply for universal credit by our local council as our housing and council tax benefits will stop once I reach retirement age snd claiming state pension. So the council sent out this years council tax bill nothing to pay then once my last ESA payment was in my account I submitted a joint UC claim while still on my last 4 days of ESA support group. I was advised by the dedicated CAB UC team. Once the council where informed of our UC application our council tax benefits where with drawn. My state pension and my wife’s Carer’s allowance will be taken into the UC deductions and whereas we had our rent and council tax paid. Once the UC is worked out we will have to pay the rent and council tax out of the pension,UC and Carer’s Allowance and maybe the council will award us some assistance. So beware of UC once you apply there’s no going back I had no choice.

calcotti

wilko said: Once the UC is worked out we will have to pay the rent and council tax out of the pension,UC and Carer’s Allowance and maybe the council will award us some assistance. So beware of UC once you apply there’s no going back I had no choice.

Your UC entitlement includes the help with rent in the calculation. This replaces the Housing Benefit and the maximum entitlement will be the same.
As you say, the State Pension and Carer’s Allowance is taken into account when working out your UC payable.
Your Council will assess your entitlement to Council Tax Reduction once they know how your UC entitlement is calculated.
Broadly I would expect your overall income to be slightly higher than before because UC pays more than ESA (unless you were getting a SDP in your ESA).